One Last Wish
by Heaven Sent Tenshi
Summary: Ten years ago, a demon committed suicide, giving herself up to the shadows she controled. The reason why was kept under wraps. Now, those who seemed to force her to do so are back, looking for her twin. The Spirit Detectives must now protect her.
1. Prologue

One Last Wish  
Chapter 1: Prologue  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

_Disclaimer: I do not, have not, and will not own Yu Yu Hakusho. Those rights belong to Yoshihiro Togashi. I do, however, own the rights to this story idea, Myleen, Miryn, and Kargon. They are mine, you no touchy… or bad things will happen to you…_

Slowly, Miryn emerged from the black depths of the shadows. With great caution, she approached the road, investigating the footprints in the mud. She frowned.

'How long will these demons follow me?' she wondered, looking up to the darkening sky. 'I suppose it won't matter until morning… those fools know better than to even _approach_ me in the darkness…'

She turned, headed in the opposite direction from the footprints. After a moment, she stopped, stifling the harsh cough that threatened to reveal her position. Sinking down to the moist ground and against a tree, she seemed to choke for a few minutes.

'Damn that cough… Why couldn't it have been strong enough to kill me already? At this rate, those idiots will find me…' Rising to her knees, she spat out the small amount of blood that had accumulated in her throat. 'It only slows me down…'

She growled quietly in frustration, finally getting to her feet again. Once more, she began to walk, almost aimlessly.

She journeyed down the path for hours before she heard a rustle in the brush beside her. Stopping dead, she surveyed the area. Another rustle emitted from the foliage before something leapt at her from the bush. She didn't even bother to find out what it was; she melted into the shadows covering the ground. The demon growled in frustration before turning to find his employer behind him.

"I explained to you already that she will be impossible to catch in the darkness," the tall, humanoid figure murmured. He brushed his chin-length, black hair back behind his pointed ears as he turned. The small, gaunt demon began to apologize, but the other ignored him, returning to the camp behind the curtain of trees.

Miryn sunk down to the ground, frustrated and angered. She resided in the World of Shadows; darkness encompassed her, covering the ground and shadows seeped from the black surroundings. She sighed, ignoring the animated shadows as they began to surround her and take on flittering shapes. One of them leaned over her shoulder, stroking her black hair.

'_Don't worry,'_ it hissed sincerely, _'They won't get you…'_

"At this rate, they will…"

'_Don't say that…'_

"It's true… Perhaps if I were to live out the rest of my life here, I won't need to worry…"

'_Many of the Shadows don't believe you belong here, though; you know that…'_

Miryn sighed as she rose to her feet, her hair disappearing into the darkness. "Yes, I know… merely because of my lineage… I should go, then, I suppose…"

'_That may be safest.'_

Slowly, her hair began to rise and the shadows began to envelope what little skin was left and she disappeared, back to the Demon World.


	2. Myleen's Story

One Last Wish  
Chapter Two: Myleen's Story  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

_Author's Note: By the way… for those of you who may have read my CYOA: One Way Link, I've revived it! Since it was deleted, thanks to the rule of no Choose Your Own Adventure stories, I figured I'd bring it back one day, so I have, but now, in the form of an actual story. Hope you guys enjoy the revamped version! (You'll find it's a good deal different, but it still has the same basic story.)_

Myleen lay on her back, staring at the stark white ceiling. The stiff sheets lay over her, covering her legs and part of her waist. The sun had risen not ten minutes ago and she had been up since then to watch it.

"Another sunrise, come and gone… I wonder how many more I'll get to see…"

Slowly, her eyes traveled over to the movement buttons of her bed. She pondered for a moment before lifting her hand and pressing one of them. Her hospital bed rose so that she could sit up. She sighed.

Her condition had stabilized since she had arrived, luckily. She was coughing less now and she could breathe a little easier. The nurses were optimistic that she would be alright and they assured her of that every day. But Myleen knew better. Her doctors had given her three months, at the very most.

She shook her head, it was best not to think about that right now. She sighed again and reached up to the lamp on her bedside table, clicking it on. Beneath it laid her Yu Yu Hakusho manga. She picked it up and began to thumb through it until she came to her place, smiling at her entertainment. It would be at least an hour and a half before her nurse would come to check on her.

"How are you feeling this morning?" she asked her, checking the monitors beside her bed.

"Fine," Myleen answered dismissively, turning the page, a smirk on her face.

"Nothing irregular here… that's good…" The nurse made a couple of marks on the paper attached to the clipboard she held and turned to her. "Any wheezing or coughing?"

"No."

"Any throat irritation?"

"Not my throat… I feel an itch in my lungs."

"But that seems normal now…"

"Yeah… I think there might be a little build up in the back of throat, too… nothing really bad, though…"

"If it becomes a problem, let me or one of the other nurses know, alright?"

Myleen nodded, turning back to her manga.

"Did you take your medication yet?"

"No…"

The nurse nodded again, then turned and retrieved the pill bottles from a drawer of the dresser beneath the window. She then handed them to her. "Anti-inflammatory, pain reliever… and the other three… Oh, and Doctor Galen told me to give you this, too." The nurse reached into the pocket of her coat, producing yet another pill bottle. Myleen took it from her, reading the label.

"Says to take two every three days…"

"Yes, _after_ you've become accustomed to it… The drug is still a bit experimental, and they aren't sure what sort of allergies can come from it… Until then, your doctor wants you to just take one."

"It's experimental?"

"Yes… it's supposed to help boost the strength of your lungs… If all goes well, this could very well help to extend your…"

"Lifespan?"

"Yes… by as much as another two months, hopefully…"

"But it isn't potent enough to keep me alive any longer than that… right?"

"I…"

Myleen smiled. "Sorry… you don't want to talk about that, do you?" The nurse shook her head. "Could you get me a glass of water?" The other nodded, turning toward the door on the other side of the room, the door leading to the bathroom. Meanwhile, Myleen poured several pills into her hands, one or two from each of the bottles. When the nurse returned, Myleen swallowed the drugs. A moment later, she paused, holding her head.

"Dizzy again?" the nurse asked, leaning her back onto her bed.

"A bit… more nausea than anything, though…"

The nurse, frowned, reaching over her and pressing the call button on the side of Myleen's bed. "Here," she took the cup from the girl and filled it again. "Take another drink of water, it may help…" Myleen nodded and did as she was told.

A minute later, another nurse rushed into room. "Is something wrong?"

"Get Doctor Galen for me, please." The second nurse nodded, exiting the room. At this point, Myleen had gone deaf to the situation around her as the room seemed to spin.

"Not good…" she murmured, closing her eyes.

"What's wrong, Myleen?"

"Really, _really_ dizzy… I don't feel good…"

"Do you feel like you're going to be sick?"

"Not puke-sick… but… yeah…" She turned away from the nurse, opening her eyes. "I don't think I'm gonna stay awake much longer…"

"Myleen, look at me." She did so. "You have to stay awake, ok? You have to talk to your doctor…"

"I know… but…" Myleen closed her eyes again. "I can't…"

"Yes you can, just keep your eyes open."

"I can't…"

That was the last thing she was able to say before she passed out.

She woke up three hours later. An oxygen mask was strapped over her mouth and nose. The steady beeping of the machines beside her tolled in her mind. She surveyed the room; no one was with her. Her stomach churned from lack of food.

Reaching out, she pressed the call button on her bed and waited patiently for her nurse. It only took a minute for her to enter the room.

"Myleen, how do you feel?"

"Tired…" she murmured into the mask. "What happened? Besides the passing out thing…"

"Well, Doctor Galen came in and decided it best to pump your stomach. Your new medicine reacted badly with your anti-inflammatory. He doesn't want you taking the new one until we find we something that won't react with it…"

"Great… I knew it was too good to be true…"

"It'll be alright… at least nothing really bad happened… besides the little breathing scare…"

"What breathing scare?"

"You stopped breathing for a minute and a half; we had to put you on oxygen." Myleen nodded. Things were beginning to make sense now.

"So, I guess I'm back to three months at most…?"

"It seems that way…" Myleen sighed, reaching up to the mask. "Not yet." The patient looked up. "Leave the mask on for a little while longer, alright?" She nodded. Sighing again, Myleen picked up her manga and began to read once more.


	3. The Assignment

One Last Wish  
Chapter 3: The Assignment  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

Yusuke grumbled under his breath as he kicked at a stray can in front of him. He'd been moving the piece of litter down the street for several blocks. He soon grew bored of it and gave it a swift punt, sending it toward the road. It ricocheted off the bars along the sidewalk, hit the wall on the other side him and struck him in the head. He froze in place, rubbing his scalp, muttering several profanities under his breath.

"That was a very intelligent thing for you to do, Yusuke…"

The teen spun around to find Kurama standing about a yard behind him. A smile parted the red-head's lips.

"Shut up, Kurama," Yusuke muttered, turning back around and continuing down the street toward Sarayashiki Jr. High.

"Well, I expected that you would duck… I suppose I was wrong…" He chucked softly and followed along. "Are you actually going to school today?" The other boy scoffed.

"No, I promised Keiko I'd meet her there."

"You might want to change those plans, Yusuke… Koenma sent me with orders…"

The boy in the green outfit stopped, looking back at him. "So, that's why you're following me? Fine, what's he want?"

"He wants to meet with all of us… he says it's very urgent…"

"Eh, I guess Keiko'll understand… let's go…"

Keiko glanced down at her watch. She'd been waiting for twenty minutes, and _still_, he hadn't shown. She clenched fists and closed her eyes, growling, deep and menacingly, "Yusuke… you're _so_ gonna get it…"

Yusuke rubbed his ears. They burned slightly, and he wasn't sure why. He sighed, leaning back against the wall. He, Kurama, and Kuwabara were loitering in the latter's living room. Kurama looked up at the clock on the wall.

"Hm… Koenma should be here by now…"

"And where's Hiei?" Yusuke questioned, crossing his arms, "Isn't he supposed to be here, too?"

"He'll be here," Kurama added. "I'm sure he will show as soon as Koenma comes…"

"What does he want, anyway?" Kuwabara asked, covering his mouth as he yawned.

"Well, he wouldn't tell me much of anything… but I believe we have a new assignment…."

"That's right, Kurama." Koenma stood in the middle of the room in his child-like form.

"Finally," Yusuke murmured, "what took so long?"

"I was taking care of some new information…" the other replied. He held out his hand as Hiei and Botan appeared along side him. Botan, knowing this to be her cue, handed the prince a stack of paperwork, who held them up. "This is your next mission." He then tossed them onto the table beside him which sat before Kurama.

"I'm not exactly sure where to start," Koenma began, "but… this is basically a protection mission."

"Another one…?" Kuwabara mumbled.

"But… this will be a little different from what you might be used to…"

As the boys stared at Koenma quizzically, the prince produced a picture from what seemed thin air. He held the photograph up for all to view. The girl in the picture was young, somewhere around Yusuke and Kuwabara's age. She had long, straight black hair, dark eyes, and pale skin. She was sitting up in a bed and wearing a white night gown. She had the faint remnant of a smile on her lips and reflected in her sad eyes.

"Her name is Myleen Banji and she's in desperate need of our protection, even though she doesn't know it yet…"


	4. Debriefing

One Last Wish  
Chapter 4: Debriefing  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

Yusuke's eyes shifted from the picture in Koenma's hand to his face, "wha'dya mean she doesn't know it yet?"

Koenma nodded. "Myleen is… well, she's on a bit of a hit list, so to speak… There's a group of demons who plan to kidnap her and bring her here."

Kuwabara frowned. "_Here_? Where is she?"

"Well…" Koenma sighed, looking up to the ceiling. This was going to be the most difficult part to explain. "You see… she isn't… from this dimension…"

Silence fell over those who were unaware of this tidbit of information. It hung thick over the room before Yusuke broke it.

"Great… first there're other worlds, now there're other dimensions too? How much more confusing do you have to make this, Koenma!"

"I'm not trying to make it confusing, Yusuke; the universe is a very complex thing, especially when you deal with the dimensional planes. And it isn't my fault; there have always been two parallel dimensions, one of which we live in; so you can't blame me. All you can do is try to follow along…

"This other dimension is like a sister universe to ours. The only difference is that they don't have a demon realm." The naive occupants, consisting of Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei, looked up suddenly. A world without a demon realm seemed quite strange and foreign, especially to the latter two. "Somehow, when the two dimensions were created, the Demon World was… omitted. I'm not sure how that happened, exactly, but I think it had something to do with a choice made by those in that dimension." Koenma shrugged. "That's the only difference, besides the people who live there. Without a Demon World, things changed slightly; this in turn altered the lives of those there."

"What of folklore?" Kurama asked. He knew that every civilization told some sort of story or believed in some sort of myth; that was all apart of the human psyche. Without a realm that few knew of, where would those stories come from?

"It still exists," Koenma proceeded, "but, in a different manner. Here, we know those stories can have truth to them; there, they do not. Instead, they have come from other sources. I'm not too sure of what those sources are, but I believe they have something to do with the physical pathways between the dimensions. I think there are some people who are able to peek into our world and see what is truth to us, but fiction to them."

"Odd," Kurama murmured. He rested his chin in his hand as he began to sort things out in his head. "So, it's possible that we're being watched at this very moment?"

"Yes… but it's highly unlikely. Whatever the case, though, the one watching us wouldn't believe in it, they'd think it was a dream or… a strike of inspiration…"

"Inspiration?" echoed around the room.

Koenma paused. "I've observed the other dimension… and… it seems they use what they see to create stories, sometimes…"

"So, does that mean we're actually in a book, right now?" Kuwabara questioned, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion.

"No, you idiot," Hiei began, speaking for the first time since he'd arrived, "it means they've made a book based on us."

"I never said that!" Koenma hissed. He paused again before going on, "It's not a book… it's a manga…"

"Please don't tell me it's popular…" Yusuke muttered.

"And they made it into an anime… with a couple of movie off-shoots…"

The teen rolled his eyes as he plopped down onto the couch next to Kurama. He leaned forward, grabbing the huge stack of paperwork. "And what does that have to do with our assignment?" he asked, thumbing though the pages.

"Well, I want you guys to be prepared when you go to get some strange looks. You might even have to disguise yourselves, we're not sure."

"We're going into that dimension?" Kurama questioned. He hadn't thought they would have to go so far as to travel to a world as foreign as that.

"Yes… which brings me back to your assignment; Myleen.

"Now, every once in a while, two beings, one from each dimension, will be created around the same time; they're called dimensional twins. When one of the twins comes into the other's dimension, they become them. Essentially, they are the same being, but in a different world. Because of this, the living environment may differ, causing the twins to seem completely different; however, they become quite alike when thrust into the other environment. There haven't been any cases of this, though, so we don't really know all of what will happen…

"You see, Myleen has a dimension twin… or, at least, _had_ a dimension twin… who lived in our dimension, but died ten years ago." Koenma produced another picture out of thin air. He held this one up for them to see as well. The picture was very dark, but from the shadows printed there came the figure of a young woman. Her skin was much paler than Myleen's, which nearly seemed impossible. Her hair was akin to Myleen's; black and sleek, though it disappeared into the background. Her eyes, though, were shockingly white. There was no pupil visible and it was difficult to distinguish between the iris and the sclera. The highlights of her hair gained attention as well, every color of the rainbow seemed to radiate from them. "Myleen's twin was a demon, and a very special one at that… her name was-"

"Miryn." All eyes turned to Kurama. He sat staring at the picture with an air of disbelief hanging thick about him. Hiei scoffed in his usual manner, not at all surprised by the fox's response.

Koenma nodded. "Did you know her?"

"Not personally," Kurama began, "but I'd recognize her anywhere. I've never met so many demons looking for a single person. I was offered quite a bit of money if I could catch her, but I turned the offers down; I knew she was impossible to capture."

"What are you talking about, Kurama?" Yusuke asked suddenly, quite confused.

"He's talking about the huge search that took place during Miryn's entire life." Koenma stepped forward, taking the stack of paper from Yusuke. He thumbed through it until he found the sheet he was looking for. He pulled it from the stack and held it up; it was a poster with Miryn's name across the top, her picture in the middle, and a reward near the bottom. "This was one of the thousands of Wanted posters aimed at catching Miryn. Hundreds of demons were looking for her before she died."

"But, why were they looking for her?" Kuwabara had asked the obvious question.

"Because of the prophecy," Hiei murmured, his eyes closed and his arms crossed. A faint smirk danced across his lips for a split second. "The Human World will fall to its knees," he recited, "but only to the demon who requires the daughter of the sun and the moon."

"And you would know that prophecy very well, Hiei…" Koenma muttered. When he received two blank and confused stares, he went on: "There was a prophecy made a long time ago about an ancient demon able to destroy and enslave the entire Human World and give it to the Demon World…"

"How original…" Yusuke muttered. Koenma ignored him.

"But… the demon, who we've named Hakaisha, requires a sacrifice in order to do so; the daughter of the sun and the moon… Miryn. When I said Miryn was special, I meant it. She was a half-breed, the likes of which have never been seen; she was half light and half shadow demon. Light and shadow demons have never gotten along, very obviously, so we have no idea how or why Miryn came into being… but she was never accepted anywhere she went. Because of the prophecy, she was being hunted down in the Demon World; because she was a demon, she wasn't accepted here in the Human World; and because she was part light demon, she wasn't accepted in the World of Shadows…" more puzzled looks urged him to explain, "a world where only shadow demons may reside… Anyway, Miryn drifted from world to world and never stayed in one place long, so the demons looking for her never found or captured her."

"So, how'd she die?" Yusuke questioned.

"Well, Miryn never liked being hunted down," Koenma continued, "and she knew that as long as she was alive, she'd never be left alone and she had no place to hide. So, to finally give herself the peace she wanted… she destroyed herself…"

"It was very sad…" Botan murmured, sorrow in her voice. Nearly everyone had forgotten she was there, having not said anything, so a few people jumped. "She only wanted solitude and eventually got it through death…" Koenma nodded.

"The demons who wanted to summon Hakaisha were furious when they found out… weren't they, Hiei…?" The price glanced back at said demon, who scoffed at him. Hiei was growing tired of his pestering. "Miryn had completely destroyed her body, the only thing Hakaisha needed. So, obviously, many of the demons kept looking for a way to bring Miryn back and use her. They've all failed, however; except one…"

Koenma pulled a file from the stack. Paper clipped to the file was a picture of a silhouette. There were no real distinguishing features, other than the long, slender ears. "We have no decent pictures of him… but his name is Kargon. He is the leader of a group of various demons, all of whom he treats like slaves. This is all we know, really, beside the fact that he's been after Miryn since the beginning. He's probably the most adamant about it. And he is the biggest threat to Myleen. He knows about the fact that Myleen and Miryn were dimensional twins, and he knows that if he brings her here, he can still fulfill the prophecy."

"So, basically," Yusuke murmured, "you're telling us that we have to make sure this Kargon guy doesn't get to Myleen so he can't fulfill this ancient prophecy and unleash the Hakaisha thing and destroy and enslave the whole human race… right?" Koenma nodded again. "Fine, when do we start?" Yusuke asked, rising to his feet.

"Well, there's another thing you should know about Myleen…" Yusuke sighed, falling down onto the seat again. "Miryn tried a couple different things before she was finally able to die… one of which affected Myleen when she was born. You see, she has a blood born disease which renders her… well, weak, to say the least. Her muscular systems were nearly torn apart by the disease, leaving her unable to do much. Her lungs were affected so heavily that it's dangerous for her to do anything physically stressful. You have got to be careful when you go; if you stress her out, she's liable to stop breathing, and it's possible her heart may give out."

"Ok, so we just can't freak her out." Yusuke stood up again. "Can we just get this over with?"

"Yusuke," Kurama began, "Koenma hasn't even told us what to do."

"Sure he did, we just have to make sure Kargon doesn't get ahold of Myleen and bring her here to feed her to some demon."

"Yes, but we have to figure out how we're going to do that."

Again, Yusuke sighed in deep frustration before sliding down onto the couch.

"This can't be rushed, Yusuke, even though time is short," Koenma imparted to him, as well as the others, "you first have to get into her dimension, which has proven difficult for Kargon to do. Then we have to get you to her hospital and get her out. We have got to bring her here where we can keep an eye on her."

"Isn't that contradictive?" Kurama asked, confused suddenly. "If she comes here, you said she would become Miryn, which is what Kargon wants, isn't it? All he would have to do at that point is kidnap her from us."

"Yeah, but if we keep her on _her_ side, things may get hectic. Remember, you'll be recognized right off if anyone sees you, not to mention the fact that people will freak out if they see you use any of your powers. It'll be safer for you guys if we bring her here."

"What about Myleen, though?" Kurama continued, "She'll be in harm's way, won't she?"

"Actually, it might work out for her, as well. Like I said before, we don't know much about bringing a dimensional twin into the other's dimension, but I think her physical health should improve. If all goes well, she'll turn into Miryn, and her sickness will be left behind. And, if we're lucky, she'll gain Miryn's powers, which will only help you in the long run."

"You never did tell us about that…" Yusuke muttered. "What sort of powers did she have?"

"You'll see… for now, we need to work on getting you boys into Myleen's dimension and bringing her here. We've only got a few months to do this, and I'm not sure how far Kargon has progressed since I last received word."

"Wait…" Kuwabara looked up, "only a few months? Wha'dya mean?"

"The sickness Myleen 'inherited' from Miryn left her terminally ill… her doctor has no idea what to do about it or how to stop it; he's even asked other opinions on the matter, but they haven't been able to isolate anything. It's left them confused. And now she's been given three months to live." A silence befell the group again as no one said anything for several moments. Soon, Koenma sighed. He then began to explain to them the best way to infiltrate not only the dimension, but the hospital in which Myleen lived.


	5. Checking In

One Last Wish  
Chapter 5: Checking In  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

Myleen stared at the manga beside her. The blues, grays, and blacks became abstract as the picture melded together into one blob. She blinked, shaking her head. She really needed to stop staring at things until they did that.

She sighed, leaning back on the bed as she snatched up the remote control for the TV and turned it on. She flipped through several channels.

"News… cooking show… more news… infomercial… infomercial… news… infomercial… man, there's absolutely _nothing_ on TV anymore…" She sighed again, this time in frustration, as she pressed the power button and tossed the remote aside. She had just finished her manga and there seemed to nothing else to do now. This always happened; she was surprised she hadn't become accustomed to it by now.

She began to debate whether or not to ask the nurses to bring her some sort of video game. She stopped, however, when she remembered the last incident. They hardly allowed her to have a TV after that.

Utterly bored out of her wits and not the least bit tired, her mind raced to find something entertaining to do until her doctor came in to check on her… again. Nothing came to mind, though, and so she sat back and stared at the ceiling.

&&&&&

Kuwabara flopped backward onto the floor, uttering a loud groan. "How long are we gonna have to wait here?" he whined.

"It's only been ten minutes, Kuwabara," Kurama replied, looking down at his watch. "Koenma told us it would take a while." The other boy groaned again, apparently trying to ignore Kurama's remark.

Hiei remained against the wall, his arms crossed, as he had been since they had arrived at Genkai's. Yusuke was sitting on the floor, alongside Kurama and Kuwabara. Kurama looked relaxed. This, however, was not the case of the other two. While Kuwabara lay on his back staring at the ceiling, Yusuke was sitting cross-legged on a cushion, fidgeting, as he contemplated their mission.

Koenma had told them that the best way to travel to the other dimension was through a portal they would construct at Genkai's temple. This was due to the high level of spiritual energy there. The construction of the portal would take a good deal of time, causing much of the group to grow impatient.

"So," Yusuke began, "what are we gonna do about the whole being recognized thing?"

"Well," Kurama piped up, "Koenma did suggest disguises, though he hasn't done anything about it… I suppose we'll just need to keep a low profile while there…"

"D'ya think she'll recognize us?" Kuwabara asked, sitting up again.

"It could go either way…" Kurama muttered, "If the manga about us is as popular as Koenma made it out to be, then it's likely she will… But, there's always a slim chance that she won't…"

"It'd be better if she did, though…" Yusuke murmured. The others looked in his direction, confused; even Hiei looked at him from the corner of his eye. Yusuke hesitated. "If she knows about us, then it'll be easier to explain, won't it?"

Kurama pondered a moment. "… You're right… she'll understand the abundance of strange occurrences better if she has already read about some of the things we've done."

"Yes," Hiei added, "but that doesn't mean she will believe it any more than a normal human." He didn't look up when he said this.

Kurama nodded, as did Yusuke and Kuwabara. They knew that what lay before them would not be an easy job. This other dimension didn't have other worlds like they did; myths were still myths there.

Kuwabara flopped back down on his back again before rolling over onto his stomach and staring at the wood grain of the floorboards. He groaned in boredom again, causing a fine layer of dust to scatter in all directions. Sitting up, he sneezed twice before flopping down on his back again. Kurama blinked several times at his stupidity and boredom before sighing and checking his watch once more. Yusuke flopped backward suddenly, as well. An image of fish surfacing in a lake came to Kurama's mind. Hiei, meanwhile, scoffed at the detectives before closing his eyes, hoping to would find sanctuary in his sleeping mind. Just as sleep began to grab at his subconscious, though, Koenma burst through the doors.

"Alright, boys, time to get to work!" he announced. Yusuke and Kuwabara shot to their feet.

"Finally!" the latter hooted as they stretched and made their way to the door where Koenma stood with Kurama and a very miffed Hiei in tow.

The group followed Koenma into the courtyard. Genkai stood ready between a pair of wooden poles, each larger in diameter than the master was tall. A rope was tethered between the two poles with seals attached every few inches. When Koenma gave the go-ahead, Genkai pulled at the loose end of the tie holding the rope to the left pole. As the rope and seals fell away, a wind picked up. It gust past the Spirit Detectives and through the space between the poles. Genkai lifted her arm up to the space. As her palm opened, a colorless void tore a hole into the fabric of time and space. Kurama, Kuwabara, and Yusuke shielded their faces from the light that radiated from the portal.

The rush of the wind roared loudly in the area. The portal widened and the wind grew stronger. Genkai turned her back to the white nothingness. "The portal won't hold long, so you'll have to make it quick," she instructed, her voice raised as to catch the boys' attention, "Botan will enter the portal and inform you when time's up. And when time's up, time's up. If it gets down to a kidnapping, so be it. You have no other chance; this is the only portal we can make right now. The next time we can make another one will be in a couple months. So, like I said, make it quick."

Yusuke nodded. He understood the urgency. It would be a get-in-get-out-and-make-it-snappy sort of mission. He stepped forward toward the portal, trying his best to imagine what might lie beyond.

"Don't waste what little time we have left, Detective." Yusuke jerked around. Hiei, with a scowl on his face, dove into the portal, Kurama hot on his heels.

"Hey you guys, I was gonna go first!" Yusuke screamed as he ran at the portal.

Kuwabara blinked several times. "Hey! You can't just leave me here!" He too leapt in headfirst.

Koenma sighed as the rushing air slowed its pace. "I hope they know what they're doing…"

"Well," Genkai began, her eyes narrowed, "if they do, it wasn't much thanks to you. You didn't give them very detailed instructions."

"Eh, they're resourceful; they'll figure it out…" Koenma turned away from the blinding light of the portal and started toward the stairs. "At least… I hope they will… Good luck guys…" He lifted his eyes to the heavens and closed them. "You'll need all the luck you can get…"

&&&&&

The dead grass had been stomped into the grey dirt. The trees surrounding the camp were just as lifeless. Several small tents had been erected around the central one, the largest by far and the most menacing. A pair of gruff guards stood on either side of the entry, a solitary black flap of cloth.

A little demon that looked to be dying of starvation stood before the sentries. "The Lord is expecting me," he announced, rising from his hunched position. The sentries nodded. The demon released the breath he was holding and pushed aside the flap of the door. It was dark inside; shadows lingered within, shying away from the few candles near the table on his right. A large throne loomed before the demon. He swallowed hard and followed the dark red carpet that led to his master. A figure was seated on the chair. It lifted a hand, beckoning the demon closer. As he obeyed, he stopped and dropped his head, falling to one knee.

"My Lord," he murmured.

"What have you learned…?"

"The portal we require will take time, my Lord… perhaps longer than you would like…"

"And how long is that?"

"Three weeks, my Lord."

The figure sat back against the throne. As it did, candle light crept over the face. The peeved man had soft, though masculine features and a pair of dark, narrow eyes. Short black hair lingered in those eyes, though it was unable to hide his long, graceful ears. He sat with one leg propped over the other, crossed in a comfortable fashion. He held his hands together, allowing them to be engulfed in the long black robe he wore over his other garments. His high-collared, cream colored shirt was covered by something resembling a kimono, though much shorter, stopping at his waist, and a long, white sash. He also wore a pair of cream pants that had a slight puff to them at the bottom of the leg; these were tucked into a pair of light, tanned-hide boots with black rubber soles.

On this man's face was a look so hard to define, it was amazing. He was annoyed, perhaps to the point of anger, but it wouldn't show. He looked merely to be pondering what he had been told.

"You have three days."

The demon nearly leapt out of his skin. "But, Kargon, my Lord-"

Kargon lifted his hand again, this time to silence the demon. "I will not wait three weeks, nor will I wait a week. You will work day and night, and by sunrise of the fourth day, you should best have that portal finished. I took you in for a reason, and sneaking into other dimensions was that reason. Now finish that portal, or I will feed you to the others."

The demon lowered his head. He knew they would eat him, alive if they could. "Your word is law," he murmured, rising to his feet and brushing his loin cloth down as he backed out of the tent.

Kargon's left eye twitched. He rose from his seat and strolled over toward the table. On it were random papers with Miryn's picture, bounty, and background information in ink. He placed a hand on her picture, a fleeting picture as she disappeared into the trees. Slowly, he crumbled the paper and threw it aside in his lack of patience.

"You may have escaped, my dear… but I am not finished… Myleen will be in my possession soon…" He snatched up a picture of Myleen as she sat in her hospital bed. He gazed at it a moment before hovering it over a candle. He watched as the flame licked at the photograph, singeing the edges. A smile tugged at his lips. He pulled back and waved the flames away, leaving a half burnt Myleen in the picture. "Very soon…"

&&&&&

Myleen looked up from the floor as it passed beneath her. She watched the walls come and go as people did the same. She smiled. It had been nearly three days since her nurse had agreed to take her for a walk. Well, this was as close to a walk as Myleen would ever get. Her eyes wandered over to the tires of her wheelchair. She watched them spin for a moment.

"Having fun?" her nurse asked as she pushed the chair down the hall, a smile on her face.

"Yeah…" Myleen was nearly lying, but what did it matter? "I like getting outta that room… it's so… stuffy in there…"

"It's good to get out and get some fresh air some times…"

Myleen nodded. "Though, I'd hate to consider _this_ fresh air…" She shrugged as the nurse giggled.

"You're right… Would you like to go outside?"

Myleen nodded again. "Yes, please, I would like that very much." She smiled as the nurse turned the chair into an elevator. They rode it down to the first floor and made for the courtyard in the center of the hospital. Spring seemed to have sprung there; the smells of various flowers blooming wafted over Myleen. It brought her joy to be outside, amongst nature at its most beautiful. She thanked her nurse softly as they ventured down a path, leading to the heart of the courtyard and the stupendous fountain at its center. The nurse wheeled Myleen up to the lip of the fountain and sat down. Myleen, meanwhile, stuck her hand in the cool water, smiling once more. She loved it there.

The pair sat in silence for well over five minutes. All the while, the nurse watched Myleen as she played with the water within her reach. She had always admired Myleen; she was so young yet so responsible, so grown up. She hated to think of what Myleen's life was like; all the check ups, the medications, the accidents, the scares… She was surprised the poor girl could function. And with only three months left… If it were her, she doubted she could do it. And how her poor parents were able to care and provide for her was a mystery to the nursing staff. She sighed.

"Myleen…?"

Myleen looked up, her hand exiting the water. "Yes?"

Suddenly, the nurse couldn't remember what she was going to ask her. Myleen's sweet, innocent face caused her to black out. She swallowed hard. Then, all her questions hit her at once. But which one to ask?

"… How do you do it?"

Myleen paused. "Huh?"

"… How do you… keep going?"

A sad smile pulled at the girl's lips. "You mean, when I know I'm going to die soon?" The nurse nodded. She looked down. "Well… that's a good question… I ask myself that same thing sometimes… I try not to think about it, really… but… hmm… I guess it's…" Her voice trailed away.

"It's what?"

"Well… sometimes I wish… I wish my life had more meaning than to just be a test subject for a group of doctors…" The nurse nodded, though Myleen couldn't see. "I guess that's what keeps me going… the thought that some day, I might do something big… something exciting, maybe… I hear about these people who do these amazing things and have these wonderful adventures and… and I wish I could have one, too…."

Myleen's nurse rose to her feet and placed a hand on her shoulder. The young girl lifted her head to see her face. There were tears in Myleen's eyes.

"Would you like to go back?"

"No… please, I-I wanna stay here… I like it here…"

"… Alright… anything you want…"

The nurse took her seat again and watched as Myleen turned to stare at the water.

"Anything?" Myleen squeaked.

"What?" The nurse looked up.

"I can do anything?"

"Well, Myleen… wi-within reason…"

"… I… I want to walk…"

Her nurse's eyes widened a bit. "What?"

"I wanna walk… I haven't walked in a while… And I wanna see if I can still do it…"

"But, Myleen…" The nurse rose to her feet, scrambling over to stand in front of the girl's wheel chair, "I don't want you to stress yourself out; what if your heart or your lungs give out?"

"They won't… I have my cane…" Indeed, wedged and hidden between Myleen and the seat of her chair was a small, cherry wood cane that had once belonged to her grandfather.

"Myleen, just because you have a cane doesn't mean you won't stress yourself out trying to stand or keep your balance…"

Myleen shook her head. "You said 'anything'; I want to at least stand up!" Startled, the nurse jumped, her muscles tensing slightly. She had never heard Myleen raise her voice to anyone. The girl froze, realizing what she had done. She pressed her hand to her mouth. "I'm sorry… I didn't mean to yell… I just…"

"It's been a trying afternoon… perhaps-"

"No, please… I just want to stand up…"

The nurse hung her head. "… Alright."

Myleen looked up. Her nurse moved the small metal platforms for her to rest her feet against out of the way and slowly helped the girl up. Myleen placed her left hand on the woman's shoulder and gripped her cane with her right, steadying herself as best she could. But Myleen's legs shook horrendously; she was afraid she would fall, but she leaned a bit more on the nurse and soon regained a bit of strength in her legs, despite the muscle deterioration there. After a few moments, Myleen was able to lean away from the nurse and depend solely on her own two feet and cane. She leaned heavily on the cane, though; luckily, it supported her well.

She smiled as the nurse mimicked her action.

"I can still do it…" Myleen chirped quietly, as though she were surprised. The nurse nodded and the girl took her seat again.

"That's very good; I didn't expect that you'd have that much strength left in your legs… You haven't been up and out of bed in…"

"Eleven months, two weeks, and five days," Myleen supplied.

"… Since your lungs really began to give you problems."

"My heart too… Only four years after I'd been admitted here… Six if you count the time when I was coming here at least three times a week…"

"You've been having problems with your body since you were born, haven't you?"

"Uh-huh… The disease didn't really make mincemeat out of me until I was five or six, though…"

The nurse nodded again and took hold of the wheelchair. She began to wheel Myleen back to her room. The ride was made in silence.


	6. Breaking and Entering

One Last Wish  
Chapter 6: Breaking and Entering  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

It was dark. Yusuke's head swirled. He opened his eyes, confused and dazed. Where was he? He sat up, holding his head. He was lying on a floor of wooden planks. Was he back at Genkai's temple? No, these planks were extremely shiny, as though they had just been waxed or polished. He frowned and looked around him. Kuwabara was lying on the floor near him; a small amount of drool was leaking out of the side of his mouth as he rolled over. Yusuke then looked over him and saw Kurama and Hiei not too far from them. It looked as though someone had just dropped them haphazardly on the floor of this place.

Yusuke looked around. The walls were white. Two small windows with Venetian blinds were set into the far wall, opposite a white metal door. There was an entry way that led to a tiny kitchen and a door that led to a closet and bathroom in the wall to his right. There was only one piece of furniture in the whole of the room; a large wooden chest with metal locks keeping the lid in place. They couldn't be in Genkai's; this place was far too modern.

Then it hit him; the mission, the portal, Myleen… They were in Myleen's dimension, they had to be. Either that or the portal had merely sent them to a small apartment in the city.

He rose to his feet and parted the blinds. In the dusk of the setting sun, Yusuke could see the whole city. It was quite reminiscent of Tokyo, but there was a slight difference; what, he couldn't quite pin-point. The air just seemed different. He turned around to see his friends beginning to awake from their comatose states as he had a moment ago.

Kuwabara was the first to sit up. "Ow…" he mumbled, rubbing his throbbing head. He looked around the room. "Where are we…?"

Yusuke looked outside again. "I think… I think it's that other dimension… I dunno, though…"

"Well, we aren't in Genkai's temple anymore…" Kurama rose to his feet, running a hand through his hair. "This place is so different…"

"Besides the whole room?" Yusuke snapped, offering a hand to the white walls and shiny floorboards.

Kurama sighed. "That wasn't what I meant, Yusuke…" He looked about. "It seems as though I can sense something that I can't back in our dimension…"

Hiei stood up, very slowly. "I think you're wrong." The group turned toward him. "It's an _absence_ of energy that you're feeling."

Kurama nodded. "You're right… It must be due to the lack of a demon world…"

A collective nod flourished around the room.

"Hey, what's this?" Kuwabara was knelt over the large wooden chest. It looked mighty old; centuries old, perhaps older. He reached down and pulled at the locks. Neither one moved.

"Looks like a chest to me," Yusuke murmured, uninterested. He turned to Kurama. "Why do you think we're in this room?"

"I'm not sure. Perhaps there's a portal located here. I wouldn't be surprised, really."

"Ok, so that's how we'll get back…" Yusuke looked up at the ceiling. "Think it's up there?" He pointed above them.

Hiei scowled at the teen as Kurama pondered it. The short demon didn't find Yusuke's stupidity all that amusing right now. Kuwabara wasn't paying attention; he kept pulling at the locks, watching as years of rust flaked off.

"Well, it's possible…" Kurama answered. "We did land on the floor, after all."

"But why can't we see it?"

"Perhaps it's closed again. We might have to wait for Botan to arrive before we can leave."

"Are you sure?" Yusuke crossed his arms and screwed up his face. "Genkai made it sound like we could go back at any time between now and then."

Kurama shrugged. "I'm really not sure at all."

"Hey, guys; look," Kuwabara had finally unlocked the chest, "It's open…"

"That's nice." Yusuke sounded much less enthused about the discovery than Kuwabara.

"… And it's glowing."

Yusuke, Kurama and Hiei looked in his direction. Indeed, a light was shining along the edges. Frowning, Kurama came up behind Kuwabara.

"Open it, Kuwabara."

He did as he was told, lifting the ancient lid of the chest. Air rushed toward it as light filled the unlit room. A colorless void, exactly the same as the one created at Genkai's was contained within. Kuwabara grinned.

"Found it."

&&&&&

The sun was setting. Myleen sat in her hospital bed, watching as the sunset colored the city skyline orange and red. She smiled. Such simple pleasures she partook in.

There was a fresh Yu Yu Hakusho manga lying on the table beside her. After their walk, her nurse had gone to the bookstore a few blocks away and bought Myleen a present. It was her way of making Myleen feel better; it always worked. There was a bookmark sticking out a third of the way through the book.

Myleen sighed and sat back, listening to the low rumble of hospital business. She could hear patients coughing or rolling over, the sound of a radio and a couple TVs, the quiet rattle of a wheelchair coming down the hall, a conversation between the nurses at the nursing station, and even the hum of the elevator. She smiled; business as usual.

The creak of her door caught her attention. She turned her head from the window to her door across the room. Her nurse had poked her head in.

"Myleen?"

"Yes?"

"We just got a call from your mother…"

Myleen paused. "Is… is everything alright?"

"Oh, yes, everything's fine. You family is coming down to visit. They have something they want to talk to you about."

"When?"

"Tomorrow. They're driving, so they'll be here around noon."

Myleen nodded. Her family lived three hours away from the hospital. Because of their budget, they weren't able to visit as often as they wanted. And because they were unable to afford it, her mother, her father, and her older brother were unable to move into the city to be closer to their sick family member. They had been down to visit two days ago; Myleen wondered what had spurred them to make the trip.

"Alright, thank you." At this, the nurse turned and closed the door. Myleen pondered whether the sudden trip had anything to do with her application to the "Make a Wish" foundation. She smiled. Her mother was adamant about Myleen's application; she wanted the best for her during her short time remaining. She also knew that Myleen strived to do something exciting and she knew the "Make a Wish" foundation was the best way to fulfill that need.

Myleen looked down at her book. If only she could do something fun and exciting, frightening, even, like the Spirit Detectives. They were always doing something incredible.

&&&&&

"Ok," Yusuke groaned, "I'm getting sick of this… Do you know the way, Kurama or not?"

Kurama sighed. He looked down at the map again. There was a red circle around the apartment they had landed in and lines of routes to a suspected hospital. It was so like Koenma to forget to give them directions, or at least the name of the hospital Myleen was staying in. Figuring that the closest hospital was it, they had gone in search of it. They had little time; how long they weren't exactly sure, but it wasn't long.

After finding the portal, the boys had started to ponder their method of disguise. Searching the tiny apartment turned up several articles of clothing, including shirts, pairs of pants, jackets, hats, and pairs of sunglasses. An odd find in such an empty place. However, they thought it best not to question good fortune. So, Yusuke adorned a pair of blue jeans, a white t-shirt, a jean jacket and a denim hat. Kuwabara wore a black t-shirt, a pair of baggy jeans, a dark wind breaker and a black baseball cap. Kurama chose the red, zippered sweatshirt, black pants, and black tee shirt, while Hiei was forced into a black hoodie and allowed to wear his usual pants, after much deliberation. All four also adorned a pair of black sunglasses.

As they left the apartment and set out to find Myleen, they spotted a set of keys atop a battered, old map. There were four keys in total, two of them identical. Kurama figured that the apartment must have a locked door, or perhaps a gate, that was meant to keep the attendants safe. They found both to be true.

Unsure of how or why they had the set of keys, they left the building, in search the hospital. Kurama had the map, which had the apartment already encircled, and was marking down various routes, some of which eventually lead to dead ends or streets that hadn't been in use for years, though the map said otherwise. Hiei figured that it was outdated, to which everyone agreed.

The sun had long gone by the time the boys had reached the hospital. It was white and quite large. There was a circular area just in front of the doors for cars to come and go, though now it was empty. Many of the windows were lit in the building. Kuwabara looked up.

"Think she's here?"

Yusuke nodded. "She has to be. This is the first time I've sensed another energy pattern besides your guys'."

Everyone nodded. He was right. There was a faint, though distinctly different type of energy coming from the building.

"Let's go in," Yusuke continued. As he took a step forward, Kurama grabbed his shoulder.

"Wait, Yusuke. My guess is that visiting hours are over. We aren't going to be able to see her at this time of the night."

"Ok, then we bust in there and get her." Yusuke started forward again, but was jerked back.

"It's too risky, Yusuke. We have to get in there without looking too suspicious."

"And how do you propose we do that…?" He yanked his shoulder away and folded his arms.

Kurama looked over to Kuwabara, who was still looking up at the hospital. "Simple…" Kuwabara dropped his head and gazed at Kurama. There was something unnerving about the way he was staring at him.

"Uh, what're you lookin' at me for?"

&&&&&

Hiei scowled. This was never going to work; they'd be caught for sure. He sighed. At least Kuwabara was in pain.

The orange-redhead was being hauled toward the ER entrance by Kurama and Yusuke. He was knocked out. His left eye was starting to swell and there was soon going to be a large goose egg on his head.

"You know, Yusuke," Kurama murmured, straining a bit under Kuwabara's weight, "you didn't have to hit him _that _hard…"

"You told me to knock him out!" Yusuke hissed in his defense. Kurama sighed.

As they reached the doors, Kurama stopped. Yusuke faltered, nearly dropping their load. Kurama looked up. "Sorry, but, I think we should take our sunglasses off. It's dark outside; it could be suspicious looking, especially since we're carting Kuwabara in here…"

"Yeah," Yusuke nodded, "you're right." He then pocketed his glasses as Kurama did the same. As Hiei was about to mimic their actions, Kurama stopped him.

"Hiei, you may want to leave yours on."

"And why is that?"

"Red eyes aren't natural."

Hiei scoffed in his very unusual way, leaving the glasses where they sat. Kurama and Yusuke then proceeded to check Kuwabara into the emergency care unit of the hospital. They claimed that they weren't at all sure of what had happened to him as Kurama pleaded with the nurse working there to help them. It worked like a charm, though how, they weren't sure. It didn't seem at all plausible that the ER would take Kuwabara in when he was merely knocked out.

An hour later, Kurama, Hiei, and Yusuke were waiting outside the hospital room in which Kuwabara was in. A man pushed the door open and exited the room. He looked over at the group.

"You must be Mr. Kuwabara's friends."

Kurama looked up, nodding. "Yes, we are."

"I'm Doctor Galen. We just ran a couple of X-rays."

"Is he alright?"

"Oh, yes, he is. I'm afraid he might have a slight concussion and, perhaps a fracture near his left eye. Besides that and a large bump on his head, he should be just fine."

Yusuke nearly snickered. He hadn't really meant to hit Kuwabara that hard, but it _had_ been a bit amusing. Kurama elbowed him in the ribs.

Dr. Galen blinked several times before continuing. "Well, your friend should be released some time tomorrow." He held up a clipboard and flipped the front page back, scanning the one he had unearthed. "We just want to make sure he's one-hundred percent normal before he leaves. He hasn't woken up yet, so, when he does, we'll check for amnesia or any other memory loss. Until then, I suggest you kids get some sleep." He flipped another few pages back and hugged the clipboard against his side and his arm to keep them from sliding back into place. "I have another patient I must check on; I'm sure you know how to exit the building." He turned and walked down the hall, toward the nursing station.

Kurama looked over to Yusuke and Hiei. "Did you see the name on that sheet of paper?"

Hiei nodded, though Yusuke was oblivious. "What're you talking about?"

"It was a sheet that had information on one his patients; Banji, Myleen."

Yusuke's eyes widened a bit. "Really? That means she _is_ here."

"And that was one of her doctors." Kurama stood up and looked down the hall. Doctor Galen was still within range of his sight. He had stopped at the nursing station and was speaking to one of the women there. He nodded and motioned to a stack of papers before turning around and entering the room across the hall. "I would be willing to bet that that's Myleen's room."

Yusuke nodded. "So, when he comes out, we just sneak in there and talk to her."

"Don't be so rash," Hiei mumbled. He glared at Yusuke from the side. "Your ideas haven't proved worthy as of yet; I doubt they'll do us any good now."

Yusuke was about to argue before Kurama broke in. "Hiei's right; we have to be careful. Not only are we not supposed to be here now, but they won't like that we would have gone into Myleen's room. The nurses are stationed right across the hall. We can't be caught."

"So what do you suggest we do now?"

"Well, we have to wake Kuwabara before we can do anything."

Yusuke sighed. "Can't we just leave him here?"

"It's a good thing I know you're joking." Kurama turned and slipped into Kuwabara's room. It was plain and white with the stench of bleach hovering in the air, just like the rest of the hospital. Yusuke and Hiei followed; Hiei stood guard by the door as the other two approached the unconscious Kuwabara.

Kurama shook his shoulder softly, "Kuwabara, it's time to wake up."

One eye opened with great laziness. "I'm awake…" he murmured, attempting to roll over. "Just gimme another five minutes…"

"Hey," Yusuke crossed his arms, "I thought you were out cold."

"I woke up ten minutes ago," Kuwabara continued, "but then I figured this would be a good chance to get some real sleep…"

Yusuke frowned. "Get up you lazy idiot." He then kicked the bed.

"Yusuke, don't," Kurama hissed, "You might alert someone."

"Whatever, just get up…"

Kuwabara groaned before sitting up. He was glad the doctors hadn't quite had the chance to stick an IV into his arm. He then looked down at himself. He was in a paper hospital gown. He flushed in embarrassment as Kurama picked up and handed him his clothes.

&&&&&

The hall was quiet. Lights-out had been called and every room was dark. Two nurses sat at their station; one was reading patient charts while the other was flipping through an old magazine.

"Who're you reading about today?" the nurse with the charts asked, looking up.

"Eh, no one important… just old gossip… You?"

"That Banji girl…"

"Oh, you got her charts?" She tossed the magazine aside and rolled her chair toward the other nurse as she nodded.

"Dr. Galen gave them to me; he wants me to start helping with her…"

"Who else is in that pile?" There had to be 30 sheets in the nurse's hand.

"No one; these are all Myleen's."

The second nurse turned white. "Are you kidding me?"

"She's been coming here for at least seven years…"

"Wow… what else does it say?"

"Basic stuff… mostly how weak she is… they only gave her three months to live… poor thing…"

"Oh, I heard about that…"

"She's always going through tests, too… I'm surprised she's able to function…"

The other nurse nodded.

Yusuke rolled his eyes. It seemed to him that the only thing women did was gossip. He looked back at the others. They were all crouched down in front of the high counter of the nurses' post. Kurama was watching their shadows; neither seemed to be facing them. He leaned back very slowly until he was able to see them. He was right, they had turned toward the hall perpendicular to the one they were in; the nursing station wrapped around the corner. He watched as they poured over Myleen's information with profound interest.

Kurama then turned to the door across the hall. It was open most of the way. There was a curtain pulled in front of the bed, hiding Myleen from view. The only definite way to see that it was Myleen's room was to read the name card slid into place beside the door.

"Go," Kurama mouthed silently. He motioned for Yusuke to hurry across the hall, crouched, as they had discussed. Yusuke did so, though, he found a quicker way. He glided across the hall as though he were sliding into home for the winning run. Kurama's eyes narrowed. At least it got the job done. He looked back; the nurses were still preoccupied. He then motioned for Kuwabara to go, who copied Yusuke, skidding across the floor. Kurama was about to tell Hiei to do the same, but he had long gone, moving too fast for the nurses to catch anyway. He took one more look, just to be sure, before hurrying over to the room and silently closing the door.

Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei were crouched by the curtain. They had been waiting for the door to shut and Kurama to accompany them. Kurama looked up; he was able to make out Myleen's silhouette thanks to the window on the other side. Her bed was propped up and she was lying on it. He wasn't sure whether she was asleep or not.

Carefully, Kurama crept forward and peeked around the curtain. To his surprise, she was awake, staring out the window at the city below. He noticed something else, just before he yanked his head back; she was clinging to a book. Kuwabara was about to ask him what he'd seen, but, before he could, Yusuke covered his mouth. Kuwabara's muffled mutterings escaped and everyone's eyes widened, including Myleen's.

She sat up, placing her manga on the bed. She looked around the side of the curtain; her door was shut. 'When did that happen?' she thought, frowning. 'I know Doctor Galen left it open when he left, and no one's been by since then…' Her eyes scanned the area. Nothing seemed out of place, besides the odd noise she had heard. But that could have come from anywhere; she wasn't alone in the hospital. Slowly, she sat back. There wasn't anyone in the room, was there?

The group of four was huddled behind the curtain, each one praying she hadn't seen them. When they heard the sheets rustle, they knew she had lain back down. Kurama turned to Kuwabara, who still had Yusuke's hand on his mouth. He gave him a look that screamed 'what were you thinking!' Kuwabara tired his best to look apologetic. Meanwhile, Hiei had the expression of 'what now?' framing his shadowed face. Kurama suppressed a sigh. They would just have to follow the plan.

As Kurama made to stand up, Myleen glanced down at the bottom of the curtain. There were four pairs of feet and four pairs of knees upon the ground. Her eyes widened.

"Who's there?" she hissed, immediately gaining the attention of the group. They froze. "_Who's there_?" she repeated after a long moment of silence. "I have a book and I know how to use it." It was a stupid threat, she knew, but it really was her only method of defense. Slowly, the curtain was drawn back. Myleen sat upon her bed, her Yu Yu Hakusho manga reared back, and a look of sudden shock on her face. It couldn't be.

Kurama was standing as he pulled the curtain back. Yusuke dropped his hand, rising to his feet as Kuwabara and Hiei did the same. Myleen's mouth hung open slightly. She stared at them, her large, dark eyes paralyzed in shock. Slowly, her arms dropped and she released the book. It slid down her legs and off the bed, clattering to the floor. It landed with the front of the book up. On the cover was a picture of group, Yusuke in the front, then Kuwabara, Kurama, and Hiei. The latter stooped down and picked the fallen literature up off the floor.

"Well, seems our disguises were of no use…" the shortest of the group mused, tossing the book onto the nightstand beside Myleen. The girl jumped. He then lowered the hood of his sweatshirt and removed his sunglasses. The others followed Hiei's example, removing hats or hoods. But Myleen didn't need them to do this, she had long recognized them.

Kurama looked up. "You're Myleen, am I correct?" She nodded, very stiffly. He nodded in response. "Then you are the one we are searching for."


	7. The Escape

One Last Wish  
Chapter 7: The Escape  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

Kurama looked up. "You're Myleen, am I correct?" She nodded, very stiffly. He nodded in response. "Then you are the one we have been searching for."

Myleen's head tilted to the side. Her mouth continued to hang open slightly in her perpetual shock. She blinked. She closed her mouth and made to say something, but nothing would come out.

Kuwabara leaned forward a bit and waved his hand in front of her face. "Hey, you still in there?"

Myleen blinked again. "I…"

A rapid beeping rang out from one of the small monitors. Kurama's eyes widened instantly; he knew exactly what it was. The others looked over, confused and a bit shocked. They knew the noise would alert the nurses. As they investigated the monitor, Kurama rushed forward and placed his hands on Myleen's shoulders.

"Myleen, please, don't worry… I know this is stressful for you… but don't let your heart rate increase as it is. Please, I know of your condition, as do you; you cannot be stressed, it will only serve to delay what must be done."

It was then that Yusuke, Kuwabara and Hiei realized that the beeping was a signal for Myleen's heart rate. They looked back at her. She was barely breathing in her shock as she sat stock still and gazed at the red head before her.

"Please, Myleen," Kurama continued, "take deep breaths; we need you to slow your heart…"

Myleen nodded. She faltered and then took a breath. She then closed her eyes as she continued to take in air. The beeping slowed. The group heaved a collective sigh as Kurama thanked her. After a few moments, Myleen looked up.

"… Why…?" She shook her head, "How…?"

Kurama looked back at the other three as he backed away from Myleen, who was now quite sure that she had somehow fallen asleep and was in a dream. "Should I?" he asked. The others nodded. Kurama sighed, turning back to Myleen. "Well, this is a bit hard to explain; though, I'm sure it will be harder to understand…" He sighed. "We're here to help you. You're in immense danger, Myleen. We came here from a sister dimension looking for you, as will a great threat. It has been determined that, for your safety, we must take you with us to our dimension."

Now she was absolutely sure she was dreaming; no more reading before bed. "But… how did you get here? And why am I in danger? And why does Kuwabara have a black eye?"

Kuwabara's eyes narrowed as he glared at Yusuke. "I told you," Yusuke hissed, "I didn't mean to hit you _that_ hard."

Myleen was a bit confused by this, but she managed to ignore it as Kurama continued his explanation. "There is currently a portal open between our two dimensions. As for your being in danger… there is someone after you."

"Alright…" Myleen chewed over his words. "So… you want to take me to your dimension to keep me away from this person…?" The group nodded. This was going to be easier than they thought. "Ok… so what sort of dream am I having, now?" The group faltered.

"This isn't a dream," Hiei grumbled, "You're in real danger, whether your puny human mind can comprehend it or not."

"No," Myleen shook her head, "this _has_ to be a dream… you guys aren't real…"

"If we weren't real," Yusuke began, "don't you think we'd just barge in here and take the hospital by storm, like we normally _could_…" Yusuke shot Kurama a glare as he said this.

The girl frowned. "I have an active imagination; for all I know, you snuck in here using Kuwabara as a dummy and admitting him to the hospital. I'm assuming that's what the black eye is for… You hit him, didn't you, Yusuke?"

The group was quite shocked at this answer. "How'd you…?" Kuwabara wasn't able to finish his sentence.

"A lucky guess," Hiei sneered.

"See?" Myleen shrugged. "If this wasn't a dream, I wouldn't have known that."

Kurama pondered her statement. "Not necessarily. If you've read the stories created about us, which I assume you have," he motioned to the manga on the nightstand, "then it's plausible that you would be able to second-guess our tactics… Since you already knew that we hadn't just stormed in, you were able to compile what evidence you saw and combine it with what evidence you already knew to come up with your hypothesis. Am I correct?"

Myleen paused. She took a deep breath. "Alright… I'll give you that… I think the most disturbing thing was that I wouldn't have thought of such eloquent speech…" She paused again, blinking several times. "Maybe that was just a fluke…"

"Please, Myleen," Kurama continued, "You must believe us… we're running short on time… We need to get you to safety…"

"Now," Myleen held up a finger, "I don't see why you're so worried about me… You said you know about my condition, right? Well, then, you already know I'm gonna die soon…" She shook her head. "If this person is just going to come here to cause me harm, or kill me even, then… I'm not scared."

Kurama frowned. "That is very brave of you… However, it is not just your life at stake… The lives of all of humanity would be in danger if you were to fall into Kargon's hands… We cannot let this happen…"

The girl sighed. "Why doesn't it surprise me that you'd say something like that…?"

Yusuke shifted his weight from one foot to the other as he grew impatient. "Look, like Kurama said, we're running out of time… We have to get you out of here."

Myleen looked over. "Wait, one more question… Why am I being hunted down?"

At this, the door behind them crashed open. A nurse with blue hair pulled back into a pony tail stood in the doorway as she shut the door again, hurriedly. Kurama, Yusuke, Kuwabara, and Hiei whipped around. Kurama's hand went to his hair, Yusuke pointed his finger at the door, Kuwabara stood ready to charge up his Spirit Sword, and Hiei had partially unsheathed his katana. As the nurse spun around, she swallowed with difficulty.

"It's ok, guys!" Botan squeaked, holding up her hands in her defense, "It's just me!"

The boys sighed and returned to a more relaxed position. Myleen, meanwhile, leaned around the group to see between the bodies. She frowned. "Who's gonna show up next, Koenma?"

Yusuke, growing annoyed in his impatience, ignored her comment. "Botan, what're you doing here?"

Botan started, as though she suddenly remembered something. "Oh, there's been a change of plans, boys. The portal can't hold too much longer, we need to get moving."

"Now?" Kuwabara gaped, "I thought we had more time?"

"Apparently not. Genkai says the portal will cave in on itself in about fifteen minutes."

Yusuke's eyes widened. "Fifteen minutes?!" He spoke the others' minds, besides Myleen's, who was growing slightly confused. The black haired teen growled under his breath before spinning around, facing the weakened girl in the hospital bed. "Ok, Myleen, look, here's the deal: You're the missing link to a big threat that's gonna be unleashed on the human race, and if Kargon finds you, he's gonna feed you to this big monster thing, so we need to take you back to our dimension and keep you safe. Got it?"

"… You just said a mouthful of stuff I didn't catch."

Yusuke growled again. "We can talk about it later. Will you just agree to come with us?"

Kurama's eyes narrowed. "Yusuke, that isn't the way to go about this…"

"Yeah, well," he spun around to face Kurama, "I'm starting to not care. We've got ten minutes to sneak her out of here, take her back to that apartment, and get her through that portal, and frankly, I don't think we're gonna make it in time if she doesn't start cooperating soon!"

"I'll go."

Quiet struck the group as they turned to look at Myleen, who sat up in her bed, watching them bicker. Botan suddenly clapped her hands together, her eyes shut and a smile plastered on her face.

"Good! Problem solved!"

But Hiei wasn't quite convinced. He looked at her inquisitively. "Suddenly you're so willing to go… What is it that's changed your mind?"

Myleen paused. "Well, you guys don't have much time. And since this is just some weird, manga-induced dream, I may as well as just go along with it." She shrugged.

Kuwabara frowned. "But, this isn't a—" Kurama promptly placed his hand over his mouth.

"At this point, there seems to be no way of shaking her from this explanation," he murmured to the group, "we should just let her think what she wants until we are able to get her to safety."

Yusuke whispered the word "hypocrite" beneath his breath as he turned toward Myleen again. Kurama's eyes narrowed upon hearing the Spirit Detective, pulling his hand away from Kuwabara.

"Alright, Myleen, if you're coming with us, you have to stay calm and not freak out, got it?" She nodded. "Good, then let's get you outta here."

With this said, the boys helped Myleen out of bed and into a wheelchair, her safest means of transportation. As they did so, Kuwabara looked at the liquids contained in small plastic bags, hanging from metallic hooks and poles, which were arranged around Myleen's bed with an inquisitive glance. "You don't need these, do ya?"

Myleen looked over her shoulder at him and smiled. "Yes and no; only when I have fits. Doctor Galen has started asking that I use them when I sleep, though, just in case…"

Botan, clad in a nurse's uniform, was decided to be the one to wheel Myleen, who was bundled up in a pair of her blankets, to mask and warm her, out of her room and down the hall. They timed things just perfectly; the nurses on the nightshift were being let off to lunch. One stayed behind, as always, and watched the monitors and various other tools behind the nurses' station to be sure nothing went wrong with any of the patients while the others lunched. She sat back and stared at the ceiling when a light went out on a switchboard. The switchboard was used to check in on patients when there was no one around to check them personally, namely their heart rate monitors. The light, one with the name Banji written beneath it, began flashing erratically as a nurse passed the station, blue hair swaying. Botan's eyes were darting here and there as her brow perspired a bit. She hurriedly pushed Myleen down the hall and away from the station just as the nurse spied the light.

Her eyes went wide as she sprang out of her chair, the small muffin in her lap, which she had been nibbling at for the last ten minutes, crashed down to the floor. She leaned down over the switchboard and gaped at the name. Without a second thought, she grabbed the radio on the wrap-around counter and called the nurses out of the lunch room.

Botan looked back around the corner she had rounded and grimaced at the sound of the woman calling for help. She looked down at Myleen, who had the blankets held tightly in her hands, which hovered about her jaw. A small amount of her mouth was still visible, and it was that bit of flesh and lip that Botan could see was moving to the syllables of "Keep going". And so they did.

They were gone and in the elevator by the time the nurses and several doctors exited theirs and were headed toward the Nursing Station. They wouldn't stay long, however, and soon, as a mass of rushing bodies, they would descend upon the hospital room of Myleen Banji, who was no longer confined within its white, stale walls.

The boys met up with the two girls just outside the hospital. They began to ponder the luck they had had in all the time they had spent in this new dimension, and ultimately the intelligence its inhabitants.

Myleen sighed and peered up at the pitch black sky that hovered above them, just out of reach of any outstretched fingers, yet closer to hers than it had ever been since her admittance to the hospital. She hadn't been outside in the dark in what seemed the longest time.

Botan turned from the sickly girl to the group of four that stood beside her. She pulled back her sleeve and revealed a small watch. "About ten minutes before the portal closes. How long will it take to get back to the apartment?"

A ghastly look befell the faces of the group.

"It took us twenty minutes to find this place," Kuwabara commented, eyes wider than normal.

"If we miss the portal, I have a sinking feeling we won't be going home," pondered Kurama. He put his hand to his mouth in thought.

Yusuke groaned. "We've gotta get Myleen out of here, no matter what…"

"Even if that means that we stay behind," Kurama nodded.

"What??" Kuwabara spun around, and faced the redhead, "We can't stay here!"

Kurama closed his eyes and crossed his arms, bowing his head slightly. "We can if it means keeping Myleen out of harm's reach."

"Well, how would we get Myleen out of here and have us stay behind?" Kuwabara now crossed his arms.

"Simple," Kurama looked up, "Hiei will take her. He can make it."

"I have a better idea." The group turned to find Myleen staring up at them from her wheelchair. "Why don't you just get me there and stop arguing about it? The longer you argue, the less time you have to take me there in the first place. If you have to, then run."

"Running might be dangerous," Yusuke frowned, "we can't risk it."

"Yes you can," Myleen pursed her lips, "Besides, you don't have a choice. If you don't, you'll never make it in time, with me or not."

"And risk—?"

Botan looked up from her watch again. "Nine minutes, boys. If we're going to make it to the portal in time, I suggest we go."

A growl escaped Yusuke's throat. They had no choice. He took hold of Myleen's wheelchair and turned her around, facing the direction they would head in. "Just don't have a heart attack on the way there!" And with that, they began to run.

Myleen hadn't moved this fast, it seemed to her, in her entire life. The wind grabbed hold of what stray pieces of her shiny, black hair that it could and tossed them back at Yusuke as he and the others pressed on.

A sensation of flight suddenly gripped Myleen's thoughts and a dream she had had the night before washed over her. She didn't realize that she had had this dream until now, now that she was being propelled forward faster than she had ever gone. It was one of those dreams you have without remembering it the next day and which can only be triggered by similar events; it was as though she had had a premonition of that moment and was forced to forget, until the scene unfolded in a spectacle reminiscent of déjà vu.

Myleen shut her eyes. She was looking down at the street as the group ran beneath her. Great white wings had sprung from her shoulder blades and were beating at the wind, allowing her to defy gravity in the most elegant way. White feathers and sparkling dust left trails of rainbow beauty behind her as she soared overhead.

Myleen opened her eyes again to find herself snuggled into a pair of blankets and securely nestled into a wheelchair being pushed by a peeved Spirit Detective, with his friends and allies following close behind. A fine dream she had had. She frowned. A fine dream she was _having_.

They turned a corner as Botan breathed, "Five!" Yusuke pushed his body harder, trying to run at least a little faster. Hiei seemed to be the only one who hadn't even broken a sweat. He rushed behind them, black hair pressing against his scalp as air resistance caught it. Kuwabara looked to be having a few difficulties, but he was managing very well, being the tallest and heaviest built. Kurama was fairing fine, as was Botan. They all, however, had a mental strain that Myleen was far from experiencing. She knew she would never again have a chance to watch the scenery pass by so quickly and was savoring every short, fleeting moment, praying beyond hope that this was all real, and yet, wasn't; she knew this intense excitement could very well shorten three months to three seconds.

A building came into view very shortly after. Kurama shoved his hand into his pocket and produced the set of keys they had found a little over a half an hour earlier. As they neared the building, Kurama did his best to get ahead of Yusuke and Myleen to unlock the front gate, allowing for a much faster transition. Yusuke barely broke his gait and wheeled the sickly girl through the gate and into the courtyard, followed by the others. However, he did screech to a halt upon reaching locked door leading to the main building. Kurama made quick work of the door and soon they filed in as quickly as they could. Upon stepping over the freshly vacuumed threshold of the cleanly apartment building, Botan checked her watch again.

"Three and a half!"

Yusuke glared at her as he approached the elevator. "Not helping Botan!"

"We're not gonna make it!" Kuwabara huffed, leaning against the wall, "We're gonna get stuck here!"

"No we're not!" Yusuke hissed, slamming his hand down on the call button for the elevator. He looked up. One elevator was ten floors up, the other was seven. "Damn this elevator! How do we get her up there?!"

"The stairs, Detective," Hiei ordered. He stood at the entrance to the stairwell, propping the door open with his foot.

Yusuke hissed a string of curse words as he looked down at Myleen. She was staring around her in wonder. The chaos of the apartment building was beginning to take a toll on her. "C'mon," he murmured, bending down slightly, taking Myleen into his arms. The girl blinked several times.

"Whoa, Urameshi," Kuwabara pushed away from the wall, "I'll take her, you just pushed her all the way here."

"I can do it, Kuwabara."

The larger boy took Myleen in his arms. "Stop arguing, you're wasting time!" Yusuke was breathing hard, and had been, just as the others had been, as he bowed his head slightly, then nodded reluctantly. With this "go-ahead" sign, Kuwabara took off up the stairs, carrying a surprisingly light bundle.

They burst through the door of the stairwell on the fourth floor. Kuwabara skid around the corner, Myleen holding tightly to his jacket, her head pounding painfully. Botan couldn't help but steal another glance at her watch.

"One minute!" she shrieked, looking up with fear in her deep purple eyes.

"Go!" Yusuke cried, nudging her forward after she had stopped in her shock. The group ran as fast as they could as Kurama fumbled for the final key.

They reached the door and the red-head shoved the key in the lock. In his haste, he snapped the key half. He held it up in shock for a moment before tossing the snapped piece away. He flipped the other keys around the key ring and thanked the fact that there was a spare. He quickly and carefully unlocked the door and threw it open.

The chest was open. It shook with a ferocity compared only to that of an angered lion. Wind rushed by them at speeds too high to stand up to. They all stumbled as the door slammed shut behind them, nearly busting it off its hinges. All six fell to the floor; Kuwabara desperately shielded Myleen against the fall, but it didn't help.

Myleen's eyes had grown wide, her heart rate had increased, she was gasping for air and pain tore through her body. She opened her mouth in an inaudible cry as she clutched desperately at Kuwabara for security. Her air came to her in wheezed gulps, oxygen was becoming harder and harder to collect. Kuwabara looked down at her after they hit the wooden plank floor. His frown deepened as a drive to protect this helpless girl kicked in; something about her reminded him of Yukina; he had to help her.

The wind continued to pull the scattered bodies toward the rift between the dimensions. Even if they didn't want to be pulled in, they surely would in a moment. As they slid toward the portal, the four boys and Botan began to stand up. Kuwabara did so and nearly fell again, but caught himself, steadied his body and soon, the five who could were back on their feet.

"Five seconds!" Botan screamed over the rush of the wind.

"Everyone go!" Yusuke cried, turning to them, "I'll go last! Kuwabara, you're first!"

They had no choice but to listen now. Kuwabara held tighter to Myleen and leapt at the portal, being swept up by the wind and swallowed by the colorless void. Yusuke ticked off the seconds in his mind; four. Hiei dove in next, three, followed by Botan, two, and then Kurama, one.

Yusuke looked on in horror for just a split second. The diameter of the portal was shrinking like mad. The void had barely been large enough for Kurama to fit. He rushed forward. The wind had died down considerably, though the focused energy of the air was stronger than it was when the wind filled the whole room. The portal had shrunken down to the size of a fox hole. He leapt forward, as though he were diving through a hoop suspended in the air. He could feel the portal closing in around his feet as he tucked his legs to his chest.

The lid of the ancient box snapped shut, closed by the sudden pressure shift as the portal closed. The rusty locks clicked into place and the room became as silent as it had been just before the boys had even arrived. It was as though nothing had ever happened to the small apartment.

&&&&&

A small demon stood hunched at his master's feet.

"What have you to tell me?" Kargon drawled, sitting up in his throne, looming ominously. His fingers tapped the arm impatiently. "This better be very good news…"

"It is, Master!" the demon cried, "Oh, wonderful news!" It grinned, rubbing its hands together. "Soon, my lord, soon. The portal requires two more days of your patience."

"Good." Kargon leaned back, his hands disappearing beneath his sleeves as he forced them to meet. He tipped his head down and smiled, his ears pushed back menacingly. "Soon, Miryn… Very soon, I will have your twin… and your body…" From under his breath a bone-chilling laughter began to crescendo, and at its peak, every demon within a thirty-mile radius shuddered.


	8. The Awakening

One Last Wish  
Chapter 8: The Awakening  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

The rushing of the wind had long since ceased. All was silent and all was black. Myleen was surrounded by a spacious blackness, a hollow, desolate plane of darkness. Nothing moved, nothing spoke, nothing existed. She was alone and this solitude was comforting. The soft black in which she was encompassed was a sharp, yet satisfying contrast to the harsh white she was once being sufficated by and she had no desire to change it.

Myleen hovered bodiless, inanimate, and content in the darkness, listening to the soft silence and admiring the warm blanket of black. She felt secure and unafraid, her mind blank and devoid of all thought and emotion, besides that of her infinate comfort.

She was in this serene state for a good, long time, until that time was cut short. Too short for her wishes.

The blackness exploded into a swarm of dull red. She squinted her eyes as tight as she could, shunning the disdainful red, wanting to return to her blackness. After a moment of uncormfortable squirming, Myleen managed to roll onto her side, causing a good deal of the red to slide away. She lay motionless, contemplating the sudden appearence of this color. It took time for her once-blank, now-disoriented mind to register what the redness was; sunlight filtered through her closed eyelids.

Myleen rolled onto her back once more and slowly her eyes flittered open.

Sunlight peirced the papered window and closed shutters. The wooden planks allowed for bands of warm beams to fall upon her face and blanketed body. She lay on a narrow futon cushion, pushed into the corner of the room, beneath the window. A low, lacor table rested near her pillows. Upon it was a bowl, half filled with luke-warm water and a wash cloth. A pair of papered, sliding doors led to the wooden porch outside the room. The wall opposite the table was quite plain, with only a simple, wood-framed mirror hanging upon it. The room was dark, save for the spot in which her bed resided and the faint rays that highlighted the doors. Three blankets pressed down upon her, wrapping her in their soft comfort.

Myleen stared around her, her eyes wide in amazement. She wasn't in the hospital, she wasn't in the apartment they had traveled to. No, she wasn't in a familiar setting. Or was she? Something seemed vaugely familiar about this place. Some place she had visited in a dream? A room she had seen in a magazine? Or had it been in...? It couldn't be possible... Wasn't it all just an exciting dream?

One of the doors on her left slid aside, the scratch of wood on wood announcing the entrance. Myleen's bewildered gaze fell upon the girl in the doorway. She had short brown hair and big brown eyes. She wore a pleated skirt that fell just beyond her knees and a blouse that complimented it. Myleen gazed at the girl as she turned, closed the door, and faced her once more.

"Impossible..." the black-haired girl murmured, her mouth agape.

"You're awake!" Keiko squeeked, as astonished as the other girl. "But... Genkai said it would be several more days..." She pondered her thought as she knelt down beside the bed. Taking the bowl into her lap, Keiko rung out the cloth and wiped Myleen's brow with it. "Guess your fever broke. You had us a little worried..."

Myleen shook her head. She remembered the time spent with the Spirit Detectives, the wonder and amazement she felt and the feeling of security and content, being in a Yu Yu Hakusho-overdose-induced dream. The thought of meeting the other characters occured to her, sure, but things felt different somehow. Unlike the feeling of the wind rushing through her hair and that feeling of imagined flight, she had never before thought about what it would be like to have Keiko run a warm washcloth over her forehead. This didn't feel dream-like, an imagined sensation, like the flight in her wheelchair had. She had so many questions to ask, and none of which she knew she could ask of Keiko, who likely knew nothing of what she had gone through the night before.

Finally, Myleen's voice came back to her as the other girl replaced the cloth and bowl. "Where are we, Keiko...?"

The girl addressed jerked back ever so slightly, blinking several times. "How did you know my name?" After a moment, she paused, shaking her head. "Guess Koenma wasn't kidding..." She frowned and sat back on her heels. "We're in Genkai's Temple. Do you know who Genkai is?" Myleen nodded; she had been correct.

"Where's everyone else? What happened, how did I get here?"

"Whoa," Keiko held up her hands, "I'm not the best person to ask about all that. You should ask Genkai or Koenma, or one of the boys, for that matter. They know a lot more than I do." She lowered her hands and placed them on her thighs. "Can I ask you a question?"

A smart-mouthed remark played at the back of Myleen's throat, but she swallowed it before answering, "Sure."

"You're really from another dimension?" Myleen nodded. "What's it like? Do you have to deal with demons and stuff? And how do you hide your powers and your appearence?"

The last question hit and stuck to Myleen hard. She blinked, confused. "Powers and appearence?"

"Yeah, like your hair; how do you explain that?"

"I don't understand... I look normal, don't I?"

Keiko's brown orbs stared unblinkingly at Myleen, a tad perplexed. "Spectoral hair shine is normal in your dimension?" Confusion, on Myleen's part, was an understatement.

"Spectoral hair shine...?" Myleen made to sit up, lifting her upper body with her arms and sliding back into the wall. Something about the move seemed immensely different from every other time she had done it while in the hospital. "Keiko, I really don't understand..." As she leaned against the wall for support, Myleen was able to catch a glimpse of the bowl of water beside her. Sunlight shone down on the surface, reflecting off it in tiny glimmers. From the glimmers, from the half of the water unshadowed by Myleen's head, she could see her reflection. Only, it wasn't her own reflection.

Myleen squeeked softly and pressed herself against the adjacent wall, staring with huge eyes at the bowl. Something wasn't right.

"What's the matter?" Keiko leaned toward Myleen, a clearly worried look on her face. Myleen glanced at her; there was a sort of fear in her eyes. "Miryn, what's wrong?"

Myleen paused. "What did you call me...?"

Keiko blinked. "Miryn. That's your name, isn't it?"

"No, I... it's..." Myleen's eyes traveled up to the mirror on the other side of the room, then down at her own hands.

Her skin was deathly pale; she didn't know one could be more pale than she, and now she knew she was wrong. Black fabric stretched down the length of her arm, wrapping around her middle finger and cupping the lower, fleshy part of her hand. Her nails were well-kept, long, and black; the black didn't look like paint. She looked down at the rest of her body. She wore a fairly reveiling-top dress that she could feel was tight against her thighs before widening and flowing out to nothing. With the intent of covering her chest, though failing, was a black cloth jacket, the same material as the rest of dress. The cloth was odd, though; it felt like a very soft, warm cotton, but reflected light as though it were vinel.

Myleen looked up to Keiko, desperately searching for answers within her eyes. Upon failing that, she turned to the mirror again. It was an automatic response, standing up. She often had dreams of being able to stand up and walk around, and this appeared to be one of them. She nearly stumbled in her haste, her feet tripped up by the blankets and her dress, which appeared to be longer than she was tall. Her bare feet thudded dully over the smooth wood floor before she confronted her reflection. The scream that tore from her throat echoed over the grounds of Genkai's home, reaching the ears of the others very quickly. Kurwabara nearly jumped out of skin, turning toward Myleen's room as Yusuke slapped his hands over his ears.

"Jeeze!" Yusuke hissed, closing his eyes. "What was that?"

Kurama sat across from him in the semicircle the three boys sat in, a deck of cards divided among them and a pile on the floor. He too looked in the direction of the girl. "She must have woken up."

"Why d'ya think she screamed?" Kuwabara asked, turning back to the group.

"One of two reasons." The boys turned to find Genkai blocking half a doorway. Her arms were folded and her pink hair fell in waves around her withered face. She frowned deeply at them before entering the room. "Either Miryn has realized she is alive again, and in a strange place, or Myleen has just seen herself. Either way, I suggest you see to our guest," she growled. The others nodded. "Koenma headed there and I think Keiko went to check on her a few minutes ago."

With these tidbits of information, Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama made their way to the building opposite the courtyard where they found Hiei waiting outside the door.

"I was beginning to wonder whether you would come at all," he hissed, nodding to the fifth boy approaching them, "You hardly beat Koenma here."

Koenma was in his normal form, a small toddler with a hat perched upon his head which was nearly as large as he was.

"Good, you're all here." Koenma stepped up onto the porch. "It'll probably be easier to explain it with familiar faces nearby." He approached the door and placed a hand on it. Just as he was about to slide it aside, they heard a dull thud. The boys threw questioning glances at one another before Koenma pulled the door aside.

Keiko, shocked, scooped up the body of Miryn and shook her lightly. "Miryn? Miryn!" She looked to the door, a pleading look on her face.

Yusuke pushed his way to the front. "Keiko, what happened?" Yusuke, Kuwabara and Kurama stepped forward and knelt on either side of Keiko, investigaating the body.

"I dunno! She woke up and kept mumbling weird things. I asked her something and she freaked out, looked in the mirror, screamed, and fainted."

Koenma frowned and entered the room; Hiei remained at his post by the door. "Did you call her Miryn before she fainted?" the prince asked. Keiko nodded.

"I thought you said that was her name?"

"That is the name attached to her body. The girl inside, however..." he paused, regarding the face of the incapacitated girl, "Well, we aren't sure yet, but based on her reaction... The girl inside may be Myleen."

"I'm sorry," Keiko shook her head, "I didn't know..."

"It isn't your fault that this happened. I'm not wholly surprised at this, however... If she is still Myleen, in Miryn's body, then this reaction seems a likely possibility; more so now. Apparently she was not aware that something like this might happen, though we specualted it."

"Time wasn't on our side, Koenma," Kurama explained. The addressed nodded undertandingly.

"I didn't expect she would wake up so soon, though," Koenma continued. "Did she wake up on her own?"

Keiko nodded, "She was awake when I came in."

Koenma nodded in return. "Guess we'll have to wait until she wakes up; shouldn't be too long. Someone put her back in bed; we'll wait here until she's awake again."

Yusuke silently took the Miryn-transformed Myleen from Keiko and laid her back on her bed, covering her with blankets. Kuwabara and Kurama moved, sitting against the adjacent wall, beside the lachor table. Koenma sat in the middle of the floor and Yusuke sat against the wall with the mirror on it. Hiei sat against the wall with the door and Keiko left to get food for the slumbering girl.

&&&&&

Myleen's unconscious mind began to buzz with life again. The red of the sunlight appeared. As this happened, she mourned the loss of the blackness. She mourned for only a moment, however, before coherent thoughts began to piece themselves together again. The first thought that occured to her was that of humor. Such an odd dream she'd had. It had been a clear compliment to the dream she'd had earlier, but she found it strange how she had had a different body. She silently laughed it off, happy to be out of that dream and waking again to reality, no matter how grim her reality was. As she opened her eyes, she counted her blessings; she was thankful to be out of that weird dream, to be back in her normal body, back in her old hospital roo--

She sat straight up in her bed, her breathing labored. She stared at the men around her, two on the same wall, one on the wall opposite, one on the wall with the door and the last in the middle of the room. She recognized all five of them

Koenma looked up at her with surprise written all over his face. "Awake again? That didn't take too long." He rose to his feet and approached her bed. "You look shocked," he commented. Her mouth hung open slightly; she tended to do that when she was shocked. Myleen blinked, clenched her mouth shut, and blinked once more.

"How... how long is this going to last...?"

Koenma frowned at her. "You'll have to elaberate."

"This dream..."

Yusuke sighed. "This is getting annoying..." Kurama frowned at him from across the room.

Koenma pursed his lips. "Myleen, correct?" The girl nodded. "Myleen, this isn't a dream; I don't know where you got that idea, but this is all quite real."

Myleen shook her head. "No, this can't be real..." She looked down at her hands. "If it was, well... This is impossible." Slowly, as though to prove to herself that she could, she pushed back the blankets, swung her legs over the side of her futon, and carefully rose to her feet before Koenma. "If... if this wasn't a dream, I wouldn't be standing up."

Koenma sighed. "I don't believe you fully understand what's going on." Myleen watched him. He was right; she may have beeen in a dream, but she had no clue as to what was happening. She flopped backward, sitting on the bed again, surprised to have no repercussion. "Myleen, where do you think we are?"

"We're at Genkai's temple."

Koenma nodded. "And you know who we are?" The girl nodded. "And what do you know of your circumstance?"

"Someone's chasing me; something about feeding me to a demon and destroying the whole world."

Koenma frowned and looked Yusuke's way. The boy shrugged. "Close..." he murmured, sinking down onto the floor again as he turned back to Myleen, "but not exact. Allow me to explain."

And so he did; about the dimensions, about Miryn, about the prophecy, about Hakaisha, about Kargon, about the hunt. As he finished, Myleen held her head.

"Headache?" Koenma asked. The girl nodded. "Not surprising, it's a lot to take in." He tented his fingers, watching the girl as she straightened.

"So... what am I supposed to do? About the whole being hunted down, and this new body... You said it's Miryn's...?"

Koenma nodded. "For now, our primary concern is keeping you safe and out of sight. As long as no one knows of your whereabouts, you should be fairly safe."

"And when someone does find out?"

Koenma blinked. "Who said anyone would?"

Myleen shrugged. "It's inevitable. Someone always finds out. Besides, if they're trying to find me, and they notice I'm not in my dimension, they'll come looking. I can't imagine my energy pattern is exactly normal, either. I probably stick out like a sore thumb."

"That's why we're here, Myleen. We're here to protect you and make sure they don't find you."

"And when they do?"

Koenma sighed. This would be a long day. "If, _if_ they do find you, it's their job to keep you safe." He offered a hand to the four boys surrounding him. "And you'll be learning the potential strength of your new body." He rose from the floor.

"Potential strength?"

"Yes. Hiei here will be teaching you to use your powers," Koenma looked back at the demon who suddenly flushed in anger.

"What?" he shrieked. "I was never informed of this!"

"You've just been assigned a new task, Hiei. Don't kill her." Koenma turned and attempted to push his way past Hiei, whose crimson eyes glared through him. He shoved the prince into the wall, pinning him there as the group protested his actions.

"Why me?" Hiei hissed, quiet enough so as not to allow for eavesdropping.

"Hiei, you know as well as I do, better even, that you are the only one suited for this. You are the only one who knows what Miryn can do. Just drudge up a few memories, teach her what she can do, and her body with do the rest. It shouldn't be that hard." Koenma pushed Hiei's arm away from his neck, allowing him to slip out of the room. The other three detectives had risen to their feet in the calamity started by Hiei. They watched the second shortest of the group glare after the shortest, fire in his eyes.

Suddenly, Hiei whirled around, glaring at Myleen. "Tomorrow," he instructed through clenched teeth. "Be ready." He disappeared out the door the next moment.

Kuwabara, Kurama, and Yusuke turned to face Myleen. She was staring blankly at the entrance.

"Why do I suddenly have this... really, really bad feeling about tomorrow...?" she whimpered, falling back on the bed.


	9. Training Day

One Last Wish  
Chapter 9: Training Day  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

_Warning: Violence and Disturbing Images  
__Ending contains some graphic descriptions. It isn't too terribly bad, but the squeamish are now fore-warned._

Night blanketed the Earth. Shadows lingered in a thick fog, shrouding the scenery. Dark clouds hovered in the inky sky, caressing the moon as she casted borrowed light upon the grounds of Genkai. Stars flickered around the moon, pinpoints of lost light, shining desperately and futilely against the cloud cover. A soft breeze had picked up, rattling the green leaves, some spiraling down to the grass. Trees hummed a soft lullaby in the wind.

Genkai's home was silent. No single light flickered in the darkness. The rhythmic sounds of sleep floated from the buildings in which its occupants dozed. But just outside the grounds, one figure stood; a solitary sentry. Red eyes burned in the night, fixed upon one of the buildings.

The breeze tossed his cloak around, his hair swaying. His arms were folded over his chest, a frown lining his face.

"Babysitting," Hiei hissed, eyeing the energy signal that burned dimly in the building. The energy pattern was strange; black, nearly corrupt. He never did like Miryn's energy pattern much, and the girl, Myleen, had been correct in saying that it made her stick out like a sore thumb.

Hiei sat himself down on the branch he stood upon. The limb groaned, but was under little strain. He sighed.

_That idiot, Koenma... How dare he give me the soul task of teaching her something she obviously won't be able to control...? Just because she inhabits Miryn's body doesn't mean she can understand or control her abilities. We don't even know for sure if it's Miryn's body. Perhaps she has merely taken on her form. _Hiei's usual frown deepened, as he rose to his feet once more. _I'm quite sure tomorrow will prove to be an annoyance…_

He leapt backward suddenly, his cloak billowing forward just before he disappeared in the on-rushing night.

&&&&&

The sun had risen, casting light over the grounds. Long shadows loomed in the dew covered morning, reaching out toward the western horizon. A crisp breeze blew in irregular bursts, rattling leaves as it passed them by. The air smelt of dew and freshness.

Hiei's silhouette was a black smudge against the renewed sun. The silhouette faded away, swallowed by the bright rays of sunlight. He reappeared on the ground, approaching the building in which Myleen slumbered.

Her shockingly white eyes were shut as she smothered her face in pillows, hiding from the few rays of light that had found their way into the room. She had fallen asleep in the dress she had found herself in the day before.

Hiei's short, spiky-haired shadow loomed in the door. He quietly scratched the door aside, casting his elongated shadow on the floorboards.

Myleen stirred softly, shying away from the sunlight that poured over her. She murmured her disdain of the sun. The light then parted suddenly, leaving her back in the dark.

Suddenly, Hiei punted Myleen's mattress. The girl yelped and blankets flew to the floor, as Hiei announced that it was time to wake up.

Myleen spun onto her back (she'd later wonder how she had found herself in this position), grasping her chest as she gasped for air. Her white eyes traveled up to find Hiei standing over her, his blood-red eyes narrowed and unimpressed.

"G'morning, Hiei," she breathed.

Hiei grunted at her, turning, appearing suddenly in the doorway. "Get up. _Now_. Your training starts in ten minutes."

Myleen blinked at him several times before slipping her legs off the bed, gingerly rising to her feet. Something in the back of her mind screamed that this wasn't right, that she shouldn't have been able to survive her fright or be able to stand.

"Hurry," Hiei snapped. Myleen straightened with a start before tossing her blankets over the bed. Hiei disappeared from the doorway before she was able to turn around. She hurried to the door, looking around at the outside world.

She looked up, curious as to what time it might be. She could hardly see the sun over the tree line. It was early.

"_What are you doing_?" Myleen turned to find the short fire demon on her right. Before she was able to answer him, he added, "It doesn't matter. Follow me. If you can." He disappeared again.

Something deep in the girl's mind told her to look north-east. She turned to her left, catching movement in the brush. Without thinking, she took off at a jog toward the movement. It was surprisingly easy to travel the distance to the trees. Neither her body nor her dress stopped her, or attempted to.

As she became enveloped in shrubbery, she continued to receive silent instructions from her mind. Confused, she followed the "Hiei ghost" through the forest.

She ducked tree limbs, waded through bushes, tripped over fallen trunks and narrowly avoided small trees. She could hear the soft sigh and rattle of Hiei landing on tree branches above her. Her bare feet padded along the dry leaves, sticks, dirt, and debris, not at all bothered by their rough, usually uncomfortable textures.

Soon, Myleen found herself exchanging the deep shadow of the forest for the bright sun of a clearing. Myleen turned to find Hiei, stopwatch in hand, glaring at her from a tree stump. He clicked the button on the watch.

"Nine minutes, fifty eight seconds. You were almost late."

Myleen gaped at him. "Was… was that a test?"

"Of course it was." Hiei rolled his eyes at her, stuffing the watch in a pocket of his cloak.

"A test of what?" If I can dodge killer trees?"

Hiei paused. What sort of situation had he found himself in? "No, I was testing your ability to track energy." Myleen opened her mouth to reply, but she wasn't given the chance. "Let me explain something to you." Hiei lowered himself onto the stump on which he stood, hands on his thighs, leaning forward slightly. "Koenma told you that Miryn was half light, half shadow demon. What he didn't tell you were the advantages of such a rare breed.

"Normally, shadow demons track their targets by slipping into the space between this world and the Shadow World, where shadows go to mimic humans and demons. Basically, they follow the shadows of their prey."

Hiei pointed to the ground. His shadow, cast by the sun bearing down on his back, sat dark and silent. "The shadows are mindless servants of their counterpart. They don't know any better." Hiei pointed to the ground at Myleen's feet. "It's very easy to spot a shadow demon in our worlds. Notice a lack of a shadow." Myleen looked down. Indeed, he was correct. She had no shadow. "Shadow demons do not employ their brethren." Myleen's eyes were fixed on the ground. Hiei snapped his fingers, causing her to look up again.

"_Anyway_, light demons track the energy radiating from beings of all types. It isn't the type of energy we fight with, Spirit Energy, though it is a different form of it. What ever the case, you can track it further than we can, but you can't see patterns. All you know is that someone or something is there."

"So, it's stronger, but not specific?" Hiei nodded as Myleen asked this. "Then, that was what kept telling me where to look. I kept sensing you…"

Hiei nodded again. "That means you passed your first test. And, you arrived on time. Perhaps you'll prove more competent than I first thought." Hiei rose to his feet, folding his arms again. "I believe it's time to test a few more things."

He passed Myleen, approaching the trees again. _Not another chase_, the girl pleaded. "What other things?"

"Your connection with the Shadow World." Hiei turned his back on the dark forest while pointing to it. "Sit here."

Myleen did as she was told, seating herself on the dew-covered moss. She determined her that her dress must be waterproof.

"What am I sup–?"

Hiei silenced her with a wave of his hand. "Stop thinking."

"But–"

"_Stop thinking_."

Myleen shut her eyes suddenly, squeezing them tight. She attempted to empty her mind. A deep blackness began to seep into her sight. She gasped, opening her eyes. She then screeched.

"_Stop thinking_!"

"What's going on?!"

Myleen's hands were no more. Her sleeves disappeared into the ground, swallowed by shadow. Her legs were gone, as was a portion of her hair.

"You're passing through the portal. Stop thinking, that's the only way for you to pass through. You aren't at a stage where it's a conscious effort. If you continue thinking, you'll never pass through."

"I don't want to, though! I don't know what's on the other side!"

"You honestly think I know?"

Myleen's eyes, hurt and frightened for the first time in a long time, stared at Hiei as the darkness continued to swallow her. It crept along the skin of her chest, covering her neck, engulfing her face until she was sucked fully into the shadows.

Hiei sighed. "Now, I wait until she finds a way back…" He turned, sitting on the stump again. "I suppose the best way to realize her true potential is by learning from the shadows themselves."

&&&&&

Myleen opened her eyes, but found little difference in the action.

She was surrounded by a thick blackness. A dark fog hovered around her waist, thinning as it reached her head. Slowly, she rose to her feet, above the haze. She could faintly see movement around her. She spun around, apprehensive.

"Who's there?" she whispered harshly, eyes shifting rapidly.

A hissing laughter tolled in her ear as flittering, slender arms wrapped around Myleen's, trapping them at her side. The girl tensed.

'_Hum-hum-humph, don't worry…'_ The voice in her ear was ethereal; as fleeting and impalpable as shadow itself. _'I only wish to welcome you… Myleen.'_

"How do you know my name?" the girl gasped, spinning around, slipping from the ghostly grasp.

'_What kind of shadow demon would I be to not know the name of my mistress' twin…? The name she repeated again and again near the ending of her own life…?'_

Myleen, gasping for air, watched the shadow, which had a faint human shape. It quivered, radiating gloom as it approached her; she responded by stepping back.

'_You may trust me. I served Miryn well and faithfully for a long time, my dear little one. And now, you have come, and brought again her body to this dimension. So now, I shall serve you. I have long awaited the return of my mistress, and by you, I have realized my yearning.'_

"You… served Miryn…?"

'_Some called me her minion. She and I agreed that I was her companion. Upon her death, I confirmed this, as she asked her minions, those she summoned, and those you shall summon soon, she asked them to take her to the shadows, to devour my mistress. I did not partake in this. I stayed aside, mourning the loss of Miryn while they took her, and brought her the solace she sought.'_

"So… what do I do? I mean… Hiei's supposed to teach me about this… but… I don't understand what to do."

The demon recoiled. _'Hiei? I've heard that name. Why are you working with him?'_

"They're helping me. Him and Kurama, Yusuke and Kuwabara, Koenma and Botan… They're going to protect me from that demon… Kargon."

The demon hissed. _'Please, Mistress, do not speak that foul name.'_ His shimmering head looked about; the shadow demons which usually floated around the Shadow World retreated from the area, as though fleeing from the name, though, they had nothing to fear. The Hakaisha had no interest in the Shadow World. The shadow turned to Myleen again. _'It was that… that thing that drove my mistress to her death.'_

"I'm sorry…' Myleen held her hand to her mouth. "But… I still don't understand what I'm supposed to do… Please, demon, I need your help."

The demon nodded. _'I will help you, as it is my duty. And if it is easier for you, call me Yotinba.' _Myleen nodded. _'There isn't much I can teach you, besides the laws of this world, the ones you can't learn from anyone besides those who reside here, as well as how to summon myself or your minions.'_

Yotinba flittered to Myleen's side, wrapping its seemingly stretchy body around her. It leaned into her ear again. _'You are not welcome here. You are not welcome anywhere. You cannot stay in the Human World, for you are a demon. You cannot stay in the Demon World, for that is where your enemies await you. You cannot stay in the Shadow World, for you are half Light Demon. You are not welcome anywhere.'_

"But I'm staying in the Human World. They don't seem to notice."

'_You have allies. People to keep you safe. Miryn did not have these allies, for it was a time before these people you mentioned must have lived. Or, in Hiei's case, a time when things were different. Whatever the case, this is how it was. So you must be very careful where you go. Here, I am your only ally. Because of that, I have a lower rank in this world. I cannot protect you from the shadow demons long, so you cannot stay long. If you could, Miryn would still be alive._

'_This is only thing you truly need to know and understand. If you find yourself in true danger, come here, and I will protect you as long as I can. But, after that, you must leave. Use this world as transportation, if you must. But not as a permanent hiding place. You may also travel in the space between this world, and the others. But shadow demons will not take kindly to your intrusions. So be careful.'_

Myleen nodded. "How much longer can I stay here?"

'_Not much longer. In fact, I must hurry and teach you to summon your minions and myself._

'_Deep inside you, there is a dark core, radiating with shadow energy. This is your power supply; use it and you will harness your potential. For now, I will only tell you one use of it, but there are more. Hopefully you will learn the other abilities that go along with your power core. I need you, when you are out, to look inside yourself and find the power core. Do not be afraid of it, for it will not harm you; it can only protect you._

'_Harness the power of the core, embrace the darkness inside of you and you will be able to do what you must with it. Once you have, call out to your minions. They will come. They are loyal and will give their lives to protect you. And that is all you need to do.'_

"That's it? No summoning ritual or anything?"

'_No. Just harness your core, and call out to your minions.'_

Yotinba pulled away from Myleen, searching the area. The movement was drawing closer, the shadows thicker. _'It is time you left.'_ It unwound itself from around the girl, appearing before her. _'Sit,'_ it instructed, offering a hand to the ground. _'I will tell you how to go between the worlds and then you must leave.'_ She nodded. _'Think hard on the place you wish to go from here. If not, you will end up in either the Demon or Human Worlds, at random. Think about the place you were. Soon, you will feel the embrace of the shadows and they will return you. If you ever wish to return here, merely think of the shadows as a portal and pass through.'_

"Hiei said to stop thinking for me to go through…"

'_He does not know the inner workings of your body. He does not understand. I do. On these matters, I wish you would trust me.'_

Myleen nodded.

'_Good. Now go, they are growing restless.'_ The shadows crept ever closer, closing in on them. Myleen nodded, closed her eyes, and thought of the clearing she had been in before. Yotinba wrapped around her as she began to melt into the darkness, slowly becoming swallowed by the shadows.

&&&&&

Hiei was sitting on the ground in front of the stump, watching intently the spot Myleen had been sucked into. He frowned. How long would this take? He knew she couldn't stay long in the Shadow World; she wasn't welcome there.

Something in the brush stirred. Slowly, he rose to his feet, hand on the hilt of his katana, watching the bushes. The bottom of a bush shook lightly. With a click, he unlatched the sword from the scabbard, ready to pull it out and cut down whatever came toward him.

Myleen's black hair and multicolored shine peeked through the bush. She tumbled out suddenly, rolling to a stop at Hiei's feet. He grunted at her, sheathing his sword again.

"What took so long?" he murmured.

"Long? I wasn't gone that long, was I?"

Hiei scoffed at her, turning and sitting on the stump. "What did you learn?"

Myleen blinked, sitting up. "I learned a little about Miryn, like how she died. I met a shadow demon who didn't like you much," Hiei glared at her, "I… uh, I learned that there's a power core in my body and I have to find it in order to use my powers. And Yotinba said I can summon minions when I harness the power inside me. And I'm not welcome anywhere, not even the Shadow World."

Hiei nodded. "Good. You'll find your power core on your own; for now, I'll refresh your body in hand-to-hand combat."

Myleen blinked at him, but not for long. He disappeared from the stump the next moment. She sensed him behind her, which triggered an automatic response: rolling out of the way. Hiei's sword dug into the grass where she once sat. She gaped at it.

"Reflexes are working. Good."

He turned, swinging his katana at her head. She ducked, rolled out of the way again.

"Are you trying to kill me?!"

"No," Hiei stated flatly, lowering himself a bit and poising his sword beside him, "I'm merely trying to strengthen you."

He lunged at her, attempting to drive his sword into her chest. At the last second, she leapt up, and without thinking, attempted a kick to his head. Hiei dodged as well.

And thus began a long day of sparing, much of it all reflexes for Myleen.

&&&&&

Kargon was growing impatient. His fingers tapped on the arm of his throne. He had called for his demon minion and it had yet to show up.

Slowly, the demon lord rose from his throne, his face becoming illuminated by the candles of the desk beside his mighty chair.

"It's almost time…" he said to himself, eyes shifting over the tabletop. He reached out to the table, taking a picture of Hiei into his hand. He had been debating on whether or not to pay him visit. After all, their contract had yet to expire. "Perhaps I should enlist you again, Hiei? You proved quite the scout… not to mention fighter…"

The rustle of the door-flap caused Kargon to turn, tossing Hiei's photograph onto the table again. The hunched demon scurried to its master.

"Master! Oh, My Lord, it is done!"

"The portal?"

"Yes, My Lord, the portal's construction is complete! And on-time, My Lord." The demon rubbed its grey hands together greedily.

"Excellent." A wicked grin spread across Kargon's lips. He turned to a muscle-bound demon that stood sentry at the door. "You there!" He beckoned the demon to him. Apprehensively, it approached him, kneeling at his feet.

"Yes, Master?"

"Take him." Kargon pointed to the grey demon. It looked up, fear in its large black eyes.

"Master?"

"Take him, and tie him to the Feeding Post."

The large demon nodded, grabbing the scrawny one round the neck.

"Master!" It pleaded, scratching at its captor's hands. "You can't do this to me! I created the portal!"

"Yes," Kargon agreed, "that you did. However, I have no further use for you. Merely one less mouth to feed. You understand." His grin grew larger, bearing the pair of fangs in his mouth.

The gaunt demon screamed and struggled as the sentry took him from the tent. Kargon turned, chuckling quietly to himself as he took Hiei's picture into his hands again.

"Yes, I do believe I shall track you down and have you fulfill your bargain with me, Hiei. After all I did for you… it's the least you can do."

He tossed the picture down again and stalked out of the tent.

Small tents surrounded his, but there was a large space with a tall pole in the middle of the encampment, just outside Kargon's tent. This pole was referred to as the Feeding Post. When a demon had fulfilled its duties and proved itself worthless to him, Kargon had the demon bound to the Feeding Post, where the other demons would dispose of it. This was usually a frenzied time, much like piranha devouring their prey.

The grey, gaunt demon, which resembled several of the other demons in the camp, struggled futilely against its bindings. Half the camp had already encircled the Post, licking their lips and clicking their jaws.

As Kargon stepped out of his tent, the sentries stood on either side of him, escorting him to a raised platform. The demons knew better than to begin their frenzy before he instructed them to do so.

"I wish for all the demons of the camp to be present. Gather them."

Hurriedly, many of the demons scurried away to find those who were not there. Soon, there was a crowd of one hundred-eighty-four demons surrounding the post and the platform. All were salivating and watching the little demon hungrily. It was frightened now.

Kargon held up a hand to silence the demons and they all turned to him, prying their eyes away from the pole. "My minions, the completion of the portal has arrived!" he announced, stirring the demons into applause and cries of joy. "The time has come! The chosen few shall enter the portal and bring to us the twin of the sacrifice! We will resurrect the Enslaver! The Human World will be ours!" The roar of the demons was so loud it was deafening. They cheered for four minutes before Kargon raised a hand again. "To mark this day, I offer you a snack. Afterward, we shall feast on human flesh!" Cries rang out again. "Feast my minions! For our day of reckoning is upon us!"

The crowd surged. Hungry mouths tore at the demon's skin. Blood gushed over the crowd, and the frenzy began. Kargon stood upon his podium, cackling, as his demon army tore open the demon. It screamed in pain and horror, but the calls fell on deaf ears. All of the demon world could have heard the turbulent cries of the demons and laughter of their master.


	10. The Keeper, the Scouts, and the Big Ones

One Last Wish  
Chapter 10: The Keeper, the Scouts, and the Big Ones  
Heaven Sent Tenshi

Myleen hit the ground rolling. Miryn's slender frame didn't seem capable of taking this sort of abuse, but it was. The slash on her cheek was framed with droplets of blood. Wearily, she sat up, wiping the back of her hand over the gash. Hiei stood behind her, his stern face set in stone.

"You're slipping up," he murmured through clenched teeth. Myleen rubbed the back of her neck, pausing when she realized it was the same hand she had wiped her cheek with. Quickly, she rubbed her hand on the grass. Hiei's eyes narrowed. His hand abruptly connected with the back of her head, sending her forward, doubled over in the grass. "_You're slipping up_."

"I'm sorry!" she grimaced, grabbing at her throbbing head. "I'm tired!"

"If you are in a life-or-death situation, you do not have the luxury of being tired. Get up."

She sat up again, holding her cheek. "And I'm bleeding."

"You are not in your old body. A cut like that will hardly faze you." Hiei disappeared, reappearing near the stump again. "Get up. There're still six hours of daylight left, and I plan to use them all."

Myleen stared at him, suddenly registering how long she had been fighting with Hiei, fighting to survive his onslaught. Her limbs were shaking a bit and her face was thinly coated in sweat and blood. She carefully rose to her feet. She stood on unstable legs; it reminded her of what it was like to stand up in her old body. She recalculated the statement; what it was like to stand up in her true body.

"I don't wanna do this anymore, Hiei. I'm tired, I'm hungry, I'm filthy, and I'm bleeding. This is my first day; you'll kill me if we keep this up!"

"I'm not going to baby you like your doctors did, Myleen. I'm not here to encourage you to try harder, or to coddle you or let you rest. I'm here to ensure that you will survive an attack by Kargon, and to do that, we have to see how far you'll go. Your mind might be tired, but your body has the capability of fighting for four days straight and still is able walk away. Do we understand each other?"

Myleen continued to stare at him. Hiei growled in frustration, diving at her with his sword raised to strike. Automatically, the girl's hands shot above her head, taking his sword, pushing it away and sidestepping him, using the kinetic energy behind it to send Hiei stumbling to regain his footing.

"Good," he murmured, pulling his katana up and striking at her face again. She pulled back and, without thinking, lowered her body, attempting to kick his feet out from under him. Hiei jumped, landing several feet away. Myleen stepped back, relaxing. Her shoulders slumped, her head drooped and her spine curved ever so slightly. Her arms were at her sides as her white eyes glared straight through the fire demon. Hiei always detested Miryn's stance; it seemed cocky to him, as though she were taunting her foe.

&&&&&

Kurama paused at the doorway. Outside it, sitting on the steps, were Yusuke, Keiko and Kuwabara. Every once in a while, one of the boys would relay what they could sense of Myleen's training while Keiko listened with growing anxiety.

Kurama turned, leaning on the doorframe. "Spying?" he asked nonchalantly.

Yusuke turned toward him for a moment. "You could call it that…" He turned back, eyes fixed on a spot in the trees. "You can sense it, can't you?" Something in the boy's voice, something that was hard to catch, gave the impression that he was shaken by this demonic energy pattern, one unlike anything he had ever sensed before.

Kurama nodded. "Of course I sense it, Yusuke. It's quite difficult to miss."

Kuwabara rolled his eyes, sitting back, "You can say that again."

"How long have they been at this?" Yusuke wondered, looking to Kurama for an answer, as though expecting that he knew.

"They left just after day-break," the flaming red-head pondered. "The sun will set soon, perhaps three more hours. I suppose it's been about ten hours."

"How can they keep it up?" Kuwabara murmured, looking up to the sky.

"Well, it _is_ Hiei," Kurama mused, "And Miryn fought for her life all of her life; she had incredible endurance."

"_Has,_" Keiko interjected, resting her chin on her knees. "What's going on now?"

"Not much," Kuwabara relayed, looking at the trees again. "Guess they stopped."

"Prob'ly not for long." Yusuke stretched, standing up. "I'm going inside. All this is giving me a headache."

Kuwabara nodded, "I should probably go home; Shizuru might be wondering where I am."

Yusuke's eyes wandered back in his direction. "Since when'd you care what your sister thinks?"

Kuwabara narrowed his eyes at him as he stepped off the stairs. "I'll be back tomorrow." He waved his hand over his shoulder, in a fashion that seemed both dismissive and a good-bye.

Keiko blinked. "What about Myleen, though?"

"She'll be fine…" Yusuke disappeared into the building. Kurama chuckled at the pair.

"What about you? Can you tell me, Kurama?" she begged, her eyes large, her hands clasped together.

"I can." He smiled at the girl. "But I believe Hiei's done the unthinkable; he's giving her a moment to rest. That… or he's rendered her unconscious." Keiko looked a bit troubled by this. "Uh, don't worry, Keiko!" He smiled and rubbed the back of his neck. "I'm sure they're just resting…" He turned and frowned in their direction, hoping he was right. It wouldn't be like Hiei to maim her, not with an assignment like this hanging in the balance. They both knew that, should they ever meet Kargon in battle, they would need Miryn's abilities on their side.

&&&&&

They only had twenty minutes. Twenty minutes to get in, grab the girl, and then get back. After their twenty minutes were up, the portal would collapse, and time would start again.

A group of large, brutish demons were sent in first. There were three of them, standing eight and a half feet tall, weighing at least a ton each, and clothed in heavy demonic armor which radiated a purple-black energy. They were C-class demons, but possessed an ability that sent them into blind rages, which would up their status to B-minus-class. These fits only lasted forty seconds, however and could be potentially devastating for their own group if used at the wrong time. Kargon used them as guards or heavy-fire scouts. They could shrug off most attacks, and were the most logical to send in first, incase time hadn't frozen as planned.

With these demons was their keeper; the only demon, besides Kargon, able to control the monstrosities. The Keeper was small, often sitting on one of the large demons' shoulders, directing them where to go, what to attack, and when to kill. The Keeper was the "brains" of the demons, as they couldn't do more than take orders and destroy whatever they could reach. He took orders from Kargon himself, and only from Kargon.

As they entered, they took careful note of the fact that nothing moved. The demons that had created the portal had fulfilled their second task; freeze time on the other side. Everything was still, including the night wind, which had, not moments ago, played in Myleen's black hair.

A pair of lengthy creatures sprang over the giant demons' shoulders. These creatures wore a skintight suit which favored battle; it wouldn't catch on anything during a skirmish and was tougher than rhinoceros hide. They were muzzled and bound to a tether which was held by the Keeper. The Keeper had recently been ordered to care for them, after the incident with their original handlers. It was also after this incident that the creatures were muzzled. Behind the steel-cage muzzles were three jaws, arranged in a triangular fashion, two beneath and one atop, lined with teeth like sharks, triangular and jagged. Kargon referred to these two creatures merely as Scouts. They were the true scouts, though they acted as Dobermans more than anything.

The Keeper motioned to the demon behind him, an informant for the other side. It scurried behind one of the huge demons as the small one perched on its shoulder released the leashes. The Scouts took off at a mad dash, checking the area for movement. The Keeper kicked the demon he rode. It lumbered forward, the other two just behind. If the Scouts sensed danger in any form, they were to report back to the Keeper.

Onward the group strode, until they were sure it was all-quiet.

"Go back and tell Master Kargon the plan is going accordingly. I don't think we'll meet with resistance, but if we do, we'll take care of everything."

The informant nodded, bowed, and did as he was told, disappearing back into the blue-black, swirling vortex of a portal. With his exit, the group continued on through the frozen gloom.

They reached their target in five minutes, Myleen's hospital. The Scouts were waiting outside the doors as the gargantuan demons approached them. The Keeper signaled to them with his left arm; they nodded simultaneously; no danger lurked in the unmoving building. The Keeper nodded as well, urging his ride toward the hospital.

The demons were so large they wouldn't fit through the doors. They snorted and grunted, testing the frames, wondering if they could bend or break them enough to squeeze through. The Keeper laughed at their efforts, sliding down from his mount.

"Don't be so hasty, my puny minded creatures." He approached the door, which he could easily pass through. "This dimension is not accustomed to our presence; it doesn't understand what a demon is. That means we, as beings who don't belong, can by-pass their physical laws." The demons looked at him, stumped. The Scouts puzzled over his words as well, though they understood him more than the brutes behind them. The Keeper pressed his hand against the wall beside the door. "We can do things these humans cannot in their own realm, things humans in our own dimension cannot. We do not belong, and we do not follow their rules." He pressed his palm into the wall harder, his hand materializing through the surface. "We are not constrained by their constraints; we are not trapped behind their walls…" His arm passed through the wall, his hand appearing on the other side, visible through the door. "We are free to roam this dimension in any way we please." The demon walked through the wall, motioning for them to follow through the glass. And follow they did.

They roamed the halls, quickly finding Myleen's room. A group of doctors and nurses were crowded around the door. The foremost doctor, Dr. Galen, nearly had his hand on the door, ready to push it open. The Keeper motioned to the room. He grinned; he could finally fulfill his master's wishes and deliver to him the body of the sacrifice. He threw the door open, entering the room as his demon bodyguards followed him inside. He took the curtain separating the door from the patient in his hand and turned to them.

"Master Kargon will be most pleased to learn that we will return with the girl," he announced to the others, jerking the curtain back, offering a hand to Myleen's bed. The demons stared at the bed, and then at the Keeper. The smallest demon looked at them confused at first, then angry. "Well! Retrieve her—" He gasped. The bed was empty. He looked around wildly. "Find her!" he demanded of the Scouts, "Find her and bring her to me!" The Scouts nodded, leaping onto the bed, sniffing at the sheets, retrieving the scent. They looked up suddenly, bounding out the door, hot on the trail. The Keeper scrambled onto the demon's shoulder. "After them!"

The Scouts led them out the hospital and down the street. As they ran, the Keeper kept a careful eye on his time-piece. They had twelve minutes before the portal closed and time restarted.

The trail ended in an empty room in an apartment building several blocks from the hospital. The Scouts sniffed at the floor. They grimaced. Something was wrong with this place. They investigated the chest in the corner. The foul scent that sent shivers up their spines was coming from the chest. The Keeper strode across the wooden floor, opening the chest. It was completely empty. He frowned and scoffed at the Scouts.

"You lost the trail, didn't you?"

_'We lost nothing'_, the Scout standing closest to him hissed ethereally, sound floating bodiless in the air.

"Then where is she?!"

'_She isn't here'_, offered the other.

The Keeper growled. "Then _where_?"

'_We don't know'_, the second continued.

"Then you lost her!"

'_The trail ends here. We cannot find something that isn't here.'_

The Keeper knelt down before the chest, pounding his fist on the lid. "Find her."

'_We cannot find something that isn't here_,' the Scouts repeated in chorus.

"Find her! I don't care how! I want you to find her now!"

The first Scout bore down upon the Keeper, his sharp claws grasping his vest, tearing into it and into his shoulders. _'She does not reside in this dimension, you fool. She was taken.'_

The Keeper narrowed his eyes before they glowed a menacing green. The Scout howled in pain, reeling back, falling against the opposite wall. The second Scout looked back in horror.

'_Brother!'_

"Do not dare attack me else you will meet with a most unpleasant fate," he informed the pair. The large demons behind him laughed; they knew all too well the psychic abilities their sub-master had. "Now, tell me how you know this."

The younger of the two Scouts, the uninjured one, tended to his brethren. Slowly, he looked back at the Keeper. _'There's an odd scent here; it disturbs us. We've smelt it before, when we passed through the gate. Except, this smells different…'_

The eldest Scout looked up, hell-fire burning in his eyes. _'It isn't demonic, humans made it. Humans from our side came here. The stench of the Spirit World is about as well.'_

The Keeper paused. He turned and mounted the demon again. "We don't have much time. We need to get back to the portal."

&&&&&

Kurama sat on the porch, sipping tea with Genkai. The sun had just set and the fire that had burned so intensely in the west had faded to ash as blackness swallowed the sky. A sliver of a moon burned through the night, casting weak rays of light upon the ground, highlighting the treetops. The clouds in the sky made the stars hard to see and the moon was struggling to keep her foothold in the inky night. Kurama watched the tree line for motion; he hoped Hiei and Myleen would be back by now. Just as he was about to turn to Genkai and ask her what she thought of the matter, the bushes stirred.

The redhead rose from his cushion. Hiei's white starburst was visible in the moonlight, as were his eyes. Kurama sighed; that had to be them. He stepped off the porch and approached his teammate. He was a bit startled though when he noticed Myleen was absent.

"Where is she?" he asked, peering over Hiei's shoulder, staring intently at the tree line.

"She's coming…" the other grunted, pushing his way past him. Kurama couldn't help but notice that Hiei's right eye was beginning to swell and he was nursing his sword-hand.

"You didn't leave her, did you?"

"Leave and test are two different things."

"Hiei, you didn't!"

"I'm testing her tracking skills. She found her way in; she will find her way out." Hiei annunciated the last phrase carefully before approaching Genkai. "It's your turn tomorrow. If I train her for more than one day at a time, she won't survive it." The old woman sipped her tea before responding.

"That task was assigned to you, Hiei. You exclusively."

"And if I choose not to train her?"

"Ask Koenma." She sipped at her tea again.

Hiei growled, disappearing into the gloom. Kurama looked back. "Why do you think he's so desperate to keep from training her?"

"Might have something to do with that shiner of his." Genkai rose from her cushion. "Myleen will be fine, Kurama. You can come inside if you want." She turned and slid one of the doors out of the way.

"I'll stay here," he informed her. "I may be able to lead her here easier."

"Alright, suit yourself." She entered the building and shut the door behind her.

Kurama turned, closing his eyes. She wasn't as close as he had hoped. Her energy level was low, though still distinct. He could follow it and hopefully not lose it. He reopened his eyes and took off at a run. He ducked and swerved, dodging tree limbs and trunks. Branches reached out to him, snagging his clothing, but he didn't care. Leaves berated his face, but he brushed them off.

He neared her. Slowing to a jog, he pulled a small branch back. Myleen was kneeling on the ground, staring at the dirt under her. She looked up suddenly. Her face was covered in an undesirable mixture of dried blood, sweat, and dirt. The slash on her cheek was scabbing over and there were several little scratches on her brow and chin. Her bottom lip was split and still bleeding and she kept her left eye shut tight. Kurama knelt before the girl, holding her chin in his hand.

"Are you alright?" he asked, wiping at a trickle of blood that reached from the outside of her brow to her chin.

"No," she whimpered. She paused, steadying her voice. "I'm done having this dream; I'm ready to go home now."

"Myleen…" He couldn't bring himself to correct her again. He stood up and offered her a hand. She took it, slowly rising to her feet. "You can't go home… But I can take you to Genkai's, alright?"

Myleen nodded. "Ok…"

&&&&&

The Keeper reeled backward in fright, diving under the paper-laden table. Kargon's body was burning an intense golden light, streaks of black creating a cage around him.

"She what?!" he howled, his now-white eyes turning to the Keeper beneath his table.

"I'm sorry, Master!" he pleaded, pressing himself against the wall of the tent. He nearly fell through it. Kargon was suddenly under the table with him, grabbing the Keeper's vest, pulling him close, his energy gone.

"Explain to me how my best reconnaissance team could possibly have failed me!"

"I'm sorry, Master!" the Keeper repeated. His fear dripped down his brow. "She wasn't there!"

"Who took her?!"

"We're not sure, Master; the Scouts claim it was humans from our dimension, that the Spirit World might have something to do with it!"

Kargon shoved the Keeper backward, tumbling out of the tent, into the ashen dirt. He rose from the ground, straightening his robes as he peered down at the table's surface.

"Damn it, Koenma; I know you have something to do with this. You and your shoddy little Spirit Detectives…" He pushed a layer of papers aside, revealing a group of photographs taken by photographers around the Demon World; Yusuke, Kuwabara, Kurama, and of course, Hiei. "I suppose I will have to use a different approach…"


End file.
